strange and random happenstance

If I'm honest the only reason Dept. Q came to my notice is because while promoting it Matthew Goode was talking about why he isn't in the final Downton Abbey movie, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale. To save you the bother, it wasn't a big enough role and he likes jobs that challenge him, in other words how Mary married two men played by actors completely uninterested in the legacy of Downton is beyond me. But that meant I was mildly interested to see him in this role that would lure him away from a five minute Ascot cameo. And once I learned it was a Scottish police drama, with quite a few of my favorite Scots, I wanted to see if it was better than the recent effort to reboot Rebus. I can definitively say that it is better than Rebus, but there's an equally forgettable quality to the show. Could it be that Goode's character, Carl Morck, is so abrasive and angry that it's hard to watch him? Yes. But thankfully the other characters soften his edges just enough that by the end of the first season he's bearable. Could it be that Matthew Goode needs to eat a few good hearty meals because he's so skinny he looked like a famine victim? Yes. It was very disconcerting. Could it be that I didn't give a shit about the missing woman whose cold case they are investigating because she was unsympathetic and was played by an actress I didn't care for? Oh, most definitely. I only wanted the case to be solved so that Akram Salim, who chose the case because he believed it could be solved, would get vindication. In fact it's Akram Salim and the other Department Q subordinate, Rose Dickson, that carry the show. One with their quiet intelligence, the other with their quirky hair. Seriously, you can go down some serious rabbit holes on the internet about Rose's hair if you so have the mind. But as much as I love these characters, they are also problematic, and not just the fact that Rose's hair never moves, seriously, go down a rabbit hole, I dare you, it's that Akram Salim, with his outsider status, not actually being a police officer but having been one in Syria before he left for the safety and education of his daughters, is the one used to work outside the system. This means using extrajudicial force. AKA he beats the shit out of people. And while it's used as a way for Carl to underestimate Akram and almost as a cathartic comedic action to relieve the tension of the constantly propulsive plot I have issues with it. They are using a Middle Eastern character to be the enforcer, and this just smacks of racial profiling. Yes he's calm and collected and a family man, but by forcing him to be the muscle they are diminishing him. Seeing as this show is getting a second season I can only hope they will address this. Because Akram and the rest of the supporting cast are what makes this show work. In fact, do we really even need Matthew Goode? Because the book The Keeper of Lost Causes was first adapted as a film for Denmark and starred Nikolaj Lie Kaas as Carl. And if you've seen Britannia, you know that Nikolaj can out act Matthew Goode any day. Damn, what I wouldn't give to just combine that film series and this television series into the ultimate Department Q series!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Akram Salim, And the Emmy Goes To, Britannia, Carl Morck, Department Q, Dept. Q, Extrajudicial Force, Matthew Goode, Netflix, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Racial Profiling, Rebus, Rose Dickson, Scotland, Scottish, The Keeper of Lost Causes

When there's a successful television show the powers that be will do anything to expand the brand. The most common in recent years is to do a prequel series. Just look to the success of Young Sheldon and you know what I'm talking about. This reboot of Ian Rankin's surly Scot could be considered "Young Rebus" if you will, because most people associate the character with Ken Stott who was in his fifties when he played the role and Richard Rankin is only forty-two. I though will be pedantic and say that the OG Rebus, AKA the magnificent John Hannah, was actually four years younger than our new Rebus when he played him in 2000 and therefore they are just trying to pull the wool over your eyes and this isn't a "young" reboot it's more of a "gritty" reboot. Just look to the wannabe Jack Irish opening credits. Back to John Hannah. Because really everything goes back to John Hannah. I was a fanatic about Rebus back in the day. It filled the void left by McCallum. And despite claiming that when Ken Stott took over the role it was season two of the show, it was a full five years after John Hannah's last episode so I view it as an entirely different series. A series I just couldn't get into. Perhaps because my mom kept complaining that Ken Stott wasn't John Hannah. Same mom. Same. So I was intrigued by this reboot. I mean, as long as Richard Rankin didn't sing "Joy to the World" this was a very stable move for him to create a long-running series for his post Outlander career. Plus the first season is only six episodes long so I did a seven day free trial of Viaplay and got to see it at no cost to myself other than time. So what did I think of it besides the fact that whomever did the opening credits had watched Jack Irish one too many times? It was totally serviceable with not a single likable character. In fact most of the characters are too dumb to live. I mean, his brother is desperate to pull his life out of the shitter and does one stupid thing after another. You do not rob from drug dealers. You do not kill their bosses. There's just so much basic common sense that went out the window that I can't believe any sane person would view these characters sympathetically. As for Rebus? He just can't keep from making himself unhappy. He just wallows. And, like his brother, makes stupid decisions that put him in the crosshairs of the higher-ups. In other words, it is your bog standard disgruntled and dissatisfied copper which could take a few lessons from Dept. Q because at least there there's a few more relatable characters and no boxing club. Seriously, no show should be allowed to have boxing clubs or fight clubs ever again. It's been overplayed. But at least with the end of Outlander we'll still get our Richard Rankin fix as the show has been picked up for another season. Here's hoping it grows. And that the second season doesn't kill the only likable character. Again.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Dept. Q, Drugs, Edinburgh, Gritty Reboot, Ian Rankin, Jack Irish, John Hannah, John Rebus, Ken Stott, McCallum, Outlander, Police, Procedural, Rebus, Richard Rankin, Scotland, Too Dumb to Live, Viaplay, Young Sheldon

The Author's Guide to Murder by Lauren Willig, Beatriz Williams, and Karen White
Published by: William Morrow and Company
Publication Date: November 5th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Authors Kat de Noir, Cassie Pringle, and Emma Endicott all had their own reasons for not wanting to hear Brett Saffron Presley's keynote address at Bouchercon. Which is why the bar was the place to be for those not worshiping at the altar of the "great man." The three authors walked into the bar and became besties at first sight. Besties with plans to concoct for their future collaboration, Fifty Shades of Plaid! At first it was a joke, a way to write, tour, and more importantly, drink together, with their publisher picking up the tab. And at first their shared editor, Rachelle Cohen, laughed off the suggestion, but she wasn't laughing a month later when they brought her a real book proposal. Which is how Kat, Cassie, and Emma end up at Brett Saffron Presley's Scottish castle. Years ago he rented Castle Kinloch from it's destitute heir and turned it into an overpriced writer's retreat where he could indulge his womanizing ways with the nubile young authors who were desperate for a leg up. Thankfully that descriptor fits none of the three collaborators. The trio are more interested in Naughty Ned than Badly Behaved Brett. Naughty Ned was the laird of Kinloch Island. Known for his sexual depravity and orgies, he was poisoned during a house party in 1900 and his murder was never solved. And this lewd laird is the perfect inspiration for Fifty Shades of Plaid. Though that might prove to be problematic as the locals don't like to talk about Naughty Ned. His murder is the most notorious thing to happen on the island until Brett Saffron Presley is found dead the night of the ceilidh. His body is bound in strategic strips of black leather, surrounded by erotic tapestries, and pseudomedieval accouterments in the castle's tower. The three female American writers staying at the castle soon become the prime suspects. But why could they possibly want Brett Saffron Presley dead? They're best friends, they're there to write... Or are they? Because at that Bouchercon over a year ago Brett Saffron Presley announced his new book, a "graphic and no-holds-barred memoir of his life as the most innovative and controversial writer of his generation" and all three women have had previous run-ins with him. Emma, when she and Brett were a couple, Kat when she was an up-and-coming author at Yaddo, and Cassie at the 2019 CrimeLovers Convention in New York City. But what happened between them and Brett Saffron Presley for them to fake friendship in order to exact revenge and possibly murder? How bad could it be?

Team W is known for their historical fiction. Intertwining narratives linking past and present. So, coming out with what basically amounts to a murderous roman à clef set in the present doesn't feel logical. Some might say that The Author's Guide to Murder doesn't feel like a Team W book at all. Counterpoint, it's the most Team W book EVER. They mine themselves and their shared history to create a meta melange where you're not sure what's real and what's not. Because them bonding in a bar and deciding to collaborate on a book called Fifty Shades of Plaid? That is one hundred percent true. As was their desire for their publisher to foot the bar bill. And all the sheep jokes. The thing is, usually an author's book isn't them unless it's a memoir. Who they are and what they write are totally separate things. But if you've ever been lucky enough to see Lauren, Beatriz, and Karen interact, to see them promoting a book, well, this book is them distilled down and then amplified. This is the Team W people clamor for on their book tours and yet so many reviews bemoan that this isn't what they wanted. What!?! This IS them. This is the pantomime version of them that then reveals a darker truth about the publishing industry. What I admire most about this book is that you really have to trust your fellow author, really be the best of friends, in order to do these caricatures of each other that aren't always the most flattering. I honestly don't think I could be this vulnerable and raw with another person let alone have it published, but that's the bond of this team. What's more, it's obvious that each character is one of the authors but that another of the authors wrote them. Kat is Karen, Cassie is Beatriz, and Emma is Lauren. Well, to a certain extent. But I can tell it's obviously Lauren writing Kat, so it's this fun tag team effort of exposing and making fun of each other that, if you know enough about them, just adds a whole level of fun to the book. And somehow this book is fun. It's dealing with three women who were the victims of one man and yet it's empowering and cathartic. When male authors have always been treated with more respect than their female counterparts and their indiscretions ignored it's nice to have women reclaiming the narrative. Especially when there's the predators out there, like Neil Gaiman, who need to be held to account. Here's to amusement and accountability!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beatriz Williams, Cassie Pringle, Emma Endicott, Fifty Shades of Plaid, Karen White, Kat de Noir, Lauren Willig, Meta, Murder Most Foul, Revenge, Roman A Clef, Scotland, Sheep, Team W, The Author's Guide to Murder

Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: October 3rd, 2023
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Roz Parker has something to celebrate. She's taken early retirement from the Met and is traveling home to Scotland to welcome her first grandchild. Though her daughter has gone into labor six weeks early. Which means she's broken her promise to her daughter. Again. But really, she had to tie up that last case. She's not one to leave a job unfinished. One thing Roz has always dreamed of doing is taking the sleeper train to Fort William. A dream that everyone at her station knew about, so they pitched in to buy her a first class ticket as part of her leaving present. Despite the seasonal, if problematic, weather, Roz's train hasn't been cancelled and she'll be home for Christmas and hopefully before the birth of her grandchild. To stave off panic she starts to manipulate her Mirror Cube, like the Rubik's Cube she mastered, but harder. Her solitude is broken into by a young couple arguing; Grant and Meg. Grant is what most would consider handsome and Meg is an influencer who won a singing contest with the song "In No Time." And she's not gone unnoticed by the fellow passengers. But Roz sees what her fellow passengers in the first class lounge don't, the bruise on Meg's upper arm. There's the students trying to get on the quiz show Geek Street. The family with the baby, their teenagers having been the ones who noticed Meg. Then there's Ember, a romantic, actually bringing a copy of Murder on the Orient Express with her. And Tony and his mother Mary who don't have tickets to the first class lounge, but seeing as it's Christmas, Roz gives Mary her seat, much to Grant's objections. Given the ructions in the lounge it's with a sense of relief that the passengers board the train. One might even say a festive air returns. But this isn't going to be a smooth ride. It's not just the weather threatening them, but the dynamics between the guests is combustible and there's a killer amongst them. And Roz's panic is rising, her own memories linked to her daughter's birth are surfacing, trauma sticking to trauma. When Roz makes it to the club car things really start to kick off, and that's before the train derails. And Meg is found dead. But hers won't be the only corpse on this train. Roz will be lucky to survive, let alone meet her grandchild.

Holy hell, this book should have been called Trauma Train. Having read Alexandra Benedict's previous holiday themed mystery, The Christmas Murder Game, I know that, despite appearances, these aren't cozy mysteries. And while you could say that Midsomer Murders is a cozy series despite a high death count, that's done with a light touch. There is no light touch here. It's blunt force trauma. Which leads me to mention that if you ever want a good laugh, read some of the reviews of this book from people who judged it by it's cover, they got a way different ride than they expected. I was luckily prepared. Though in all seriousness, did they really consider Trauma Train as a possible title? It would have been perfect! The holidays are hard on many people. Just the sight of a Christmas tree or a carol heard on the radio can send them into a deep depression that won't lift until the last of the snow has melted. I know many people like this. Add to that family stress and strain. Complicated relationships between family that's forced together and you can see why many people do as I do and spend the holidays reading about family gatherings where there's quite a cull. In my mind, one of the relationships that has the most strain put on it is between mothers and daughters. If you have issues with your daughter or your mother or sadly both, this book needs a big old trigger warning for you. In fact Trigger Warning Train, another good title. Because despite fraught family relationships, Benedict then piles on the PTSD, the sexual assaults, the psychological abuse, the domestic abuse, the pregnancy fears. The horror just keeps being piled on. Yes, you can say, at least the main abuser gets what they deserve so there's some sort of collective sigh of relief, but really, there isn't. Which means that this book could, quite conceivably, ruin your love of holiday murder mysteries. My solution was to read something else as fast as I could as a palate cleanser and seek psychological counseling. In fact, everyone in this book needs psychological counseling. They need psychiatrists, psychologists, and maybe a few exorcists. Also, I think primal scream therapy would do nicely. It's better than a Rubik's Cube and Scottish Tablet. But to each their own.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexandra Benedict, Murder Most Foul, Murder on the Christmas Express, Pregnancy, PTSD, Roz Parker, Rubik's Cube, Scotland, Sexual Assault, Sleeper Train, The Christmas Murder Game, Trauma Train, Trigger Warning

A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 3rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, does like an excuse to dress up, and his dear friends coming to visit him en famille at his estate in Scotland means it's time to break out the Bainbridge tartan, a flamboyant concoction of bright turquoise, scarlet, and yellow designed by his late lamented Uncle whom he inherited Cairnfarn Castle from. Emily, Colin, and their three children are headed north to visit Jeremy because of one of their children. Henry is very persuasive and upon learning that Jeremy is in possession of a menagerie he demanded to inspect the living conditions of the animals. And yes, this would be the same Henry who walks around with his crocodile Cedric on a lead. He seems to think that animals should be free, but what's safest for the animals might not be safest for the residents of Cairnfarn. Luckily there is a new danger on the horizon, that of a murderer. On their second day at Cairnfarn the village hosted a ceilidh for their new doctor. A new doctor who happens to be a woman! There was dancing, drinking, storytelling, a punch that packed a punch, and Jeremy in Bainbridge tartan from tip to tail, and, before the night was out, murder. Only the body of Jeremy's gamekeeper, Mr. Sinclair, wasn't found until the next morning. By Emily's precocious children. His body was a bloody sight and on his forehead lay a single stone with a rune carved in it. One would think that such brutality couldn't exist there beside the loch in quiet splendor. But that's one thing Emily has learned over the years, death can happen to anyone at anytime. Now they just have to figure out the who and the why. And there are plenty of candidates, especially when you're victim is a handsome stranger in a new place who kept to himself. When Mr. Sinclair arrived in Cairnfarn he left behind a fiance in Edinburgh to steal the hearts of the local lassies. One lassie in particular loved him desperately but her affections were not returned. Could either of these spurned ladies have been the culprit? Or perhaps the young farmer in love with the girl Mr. Sinclair spurned? When love and lust is at play anyone could be capable of murder. And Cairnfarn has a dark history of witchcraft. And everyone knows though shalt not suffer a witch to live...

Having reached seventeen volumes and an ever expanding cast of beloved characters I'm always wondering who will be drawn into Lady Emily's current case. Will her mother-in-law deign to make an appearance? Will the ghost of Kristiana von Lange loom large? Will Cécile du Lac be lured away from Paris and yet another paramour? Could Emily's dear friend Ivy Brandon stop by? Or what about the formidably smart American Margaret Seward? Or could it be just Jeremy, the Duke of Bainbridge? While I love all these characters more than I can say I was not the least bit disappointed to see that just Jeremy was on board for the latest adventure. As much as I love every single entry in this series the two books that top my list are The Adventuress and A Terrible Beauty. And The Adventuress gives us so much wonderful Jeremy I could die happy, he wouldn't have died happy, but thankfully he got away from his fiance. His minute cameo at the end of the last adventure wasn't enough, I needed more and thankfully Tasha somehow knew. What's more, here we have Jeremy attempting to adult and being almost nearly useful. In a kilt. Sadly, there is no Colin in a kilt. Once you meet Jeremy's Greats you will hope that perhaps they will be able to force Colin into a kilt for their own amusement, because they know a fine specimen of a man when they see one, but sadly it was not to be. And I'm sorry for that slight kilt spoiler, but I think that it's important to make sure you don't suffer the same crushed dreams I did. But at least there's Jeremy, you think he's growing up, taking on responsibility, and then he has the vapors and has to go lie down for a bit, have a drink, and possibly a game of billiards. As Tasha said, "The Ducal Struggle® is real." Yet thankfully we are introduced to some of Jeremy's relatives who are very much wanting to get their fingers into all the pies versus keeping their hands as clean as possible with their nails as nice as the valet can make them. I'm talking about the aforementioned Greats. These are Jeremy's great-aunts, Miss Adeline and Miss Josephine. They have sequestered themselves in their own salon in Cairnfarn from which they know all and see all and desperately want to know about the murder. They are my new favorite characters and if they don't minimally get their own novella I shall have a fit of the vapors myself.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Cold Highland Wind, A Terrible Beauty, Cairnfarn Castle, Ceilidh, Colin Hargreaves, Duke of Bainbridge, Lady Emily, Murder, Scotland, Tasha Alexander, The Adventuress, The Ducal Struggle, The Greats, Witchcraft

Interview with the Vampire gave me false hope that Mayfair Witches would be equally good, despite different creators, writers, and cast, though oddly sometimes repurposed sets. I should have known better. This is the new Anne Rice "immortal universe" that AMC is fully embracing and we're getting the full range of her writing, and not all of that was good. There is literally a third show in development as I write this, possibly more by the time this publishes. The thing is within this "immortal universe" this is the trailer trash end. This is AMC by way of V.C. Andrews. I mean Harry Hamlin was actually in a V.C. Andrews adaptation only six months previously to Mayfair Witches airing. The problem is they don't realize they're V.C. Andrews, they think they are better than that. Lifetime's V.C. Andrews adaptations are a joy to watch because they know exactly what they are, unlike this show. Mayfair Witches' opening credits alone hit you over the head with a mallet with there "subtle" White Lotus Southern Gothic vibe. Just because your star was on the first season of White Lotus that does not give you permission to ape the style. Especially because it's not carried through the rest of the show. It's an aberrant opening credit sequence to trick the viewer. It's just infuriating. I would gnash my teeth just watching them. And given I don't live in a bubble and I talk to other people I am still shocked this got a second season. The number one problem noted time and again in my discussions with fellow viewers is the pacing. This show is glacial. It took them eight episodes to do what could have been done in a single TV movie. And still they omit things. Mayfair Witches is eight episodes of WTF and why am I watching this. And no matter how obsessed the internet is with Alexandra Daddario I will never get it. I have seen no evidence that she can actually act and her character is totally unlikable, which is actually a problem for all the characters in this series minus the marvelous Jen Richards as Jojo. I'd watch a show about Jojo. So if that's the forth "immortal universe" show then I'm down with that. I mean, how did they ruin Jack Huston!?! Gaw! But the WORST problem of all is that I think they think the viewers are stupid. How have I come to this conclusion? The subtitles. In the flashbacks to Scotland, which yes, I confirmed it's Scotland, the accents due tend to wander and slip and if you occasionally thought they were Irish I forgive you. So instead of fixing this problem by redubbing with actors who could do the accents much like the Andy MacDowell Greystoke controversy, they had the brilliant idea of subtitles. Now I was watching this show at the same time as Karen Pirie, which has true Scots accents, and this subtitling infuriated me. I really couldn't decide if they thought their viewers couldn't comprehend or they knew their actors were horrible. And maybe that's the problem at the bottom of this all, do they realize what a bad job they are doing or are they aware and trying to right a sinking ship? Either way I won't be turning into season two. Unless they are evil geniuses and figure out someway to tie this into the divine Interview with the Vampire... But even then there are enough websites that write summaries of shows that I don't think I'll be forced to endure anymore of whatever this is.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexandra Daddario, AMC, And the Emmy Goes To, Anne Rice, Harry Hamlin, Immortal Universe, Interview with the Vampire, Jack Huston, Jen Richards, Karen Pirie, Mayfair Witches, Scotland, V.C. Andrews, White Lotus

A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 3rd, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge, does like an excuse to dress up, and his dear friends coming to visit him en famille at his estate in Scotland means it's time to break out the Bainbridge tartan, a flamboyant concoction of bright turquoise, scarlet, and yellow designed by his late lamented Uncle whom he inherited Cairnfarn Castle from. Emily, Colin, and their three children are headed north to visit Jeremy because of one of their children. Henry is very persuasive and upon learning that Jeremy is in possession of a menagerie he demanded to inspect the living conditions of the animals. And yes, this would be the same Henry who walks around with his crocodile Cedric on a lead. He seems to think that animals should be free, but what's safest for the animals might not be safest for the residents of Cairnfarn. Luckily there is a new danger on the horizon, that of a murderer. On their second day at Cairnfarn the village hosted a ceilidh for their new doctor. A new doctor who happens to be a woman! There was dancing, drinking, storytelling, a punch that packed a punch, and Jeremy in Bainbridge tartan from tip to tail, and, before the night was out, murder. Only the body of Jeremy's gamekeeper, Mr. Sinclair, wasn't found until the next morning. By Emily's precocious children. His body was a bloody sight and on his forehead lay a single stone with a rune carved in it. One would think that such brutality couldn't exist there beside the loch in quiet splendor. But that's one thing Emily has learned over the years, death can happen to anyone at anytime. Now they just have to figure out the who and the why. And there are plenty of candidates, especially when you're victim is a handsome stranger in a new place who kept to himself. When Mr. Sinclair arrived in Cairnfarn he left behind a fiance in Edinburgh to steal the hearts of the local lassies. One lassie in particular loved him desperately but her affections were not returned. Could either of these spurned ladies have been the culprit? Or perhaps the young farmer in love with the girl Mr. Sinclair spurned? When love and lust is at play anyone could be capable of murder. And Cairnfarn has a dark history of witchcraft. And everyone knows though shalt not suffer a witch to live...

Having reached seventeen volumes and an ever expanding cast of beloved characters I'm always wondering who will be drawn into Lady Emily's current case. Will her mother-in-law deign to make an appearance? Will the ghost of Kristiana von Lange loom large? Will Cécile du Lac be lured away from Paris and yet another paramour? Could Emily's dear friend Ivy Brandon stop by? Or what about the formidably smart American Margaret Seward? Or could it be just Jeremy, the Duke of Bainbridge? While I love all these characters more than I can say I was not the least bit disappointed to see that just Jeremy was on board for the latest adventure. As much as I love every single entry in this series the two books that top my list are The Adventuress and A Terrible Beauty. And The Adventuress gives us so much wonderful Jeremy I could die happy, he wouldn't have died happy, but thankfully he got away from his fiance. His minute cameo at the end of the last adventure wasn't enough, I needed more and thankfully Tasha somehow knew. What's more, here we have Jeremy attempting to adult and being almost nearly useful. In a kilt. Sadly, there is no Colin in a kilt. Once you meet Jeremy's Greats you will hope that perhaps they will be able to force Colin into a kilt for their own amusement, because they know a fine specimen of a man when they see one, but sadly it was not to be. And I'm sorry for that slight kilt spoiler, but I think that it's important to make sure you don't suffer the same crushed dreams I did. But at least there's Jeremy, you think he's growing up, taking on responsibility, and then he has the vapors and has to go lie down for a bit, have a drink, and possibly a game of billiards. As Tasha said, "The Ducal Struggle® is real." Yet thankfully we are introduced to some of Jeremy's relatives who are very much wanting to get their fingers into all the pies versus keeping their hands as clean as possible with their nails as nice as the valet can make them. I'm talking about the aforementioned Greats. These are Jeremy's great-aunts, Miss Adeline and Miss Josephine. They have sequestered themselves in their own salon in Cairnfarn from which they know all and see all and desperately want to know about the murder. They are my new favorite characters and if they don't minimally get their own novella I shall have a fit of the vapors myself.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Cold Highland Wind, A Terrible Beauty, Cairnfarn Castle, Ceilidh, Colin Hargreaves, Duke of Bainbridge, Lady Emily, Murder, Scotland, Tasha Alexander, The Adventuress, The Ducal Struggle, The Greats, Witchcraft

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

Janet lived for sixteen short years. Her family went away on holiday without her because she was being punished because of her behavior and she was gutted like a rabbit at the foot of the stairs. Stabbed by a family retainer for being a "whore." But as everyone said, it's what she deserved. She never was normal. She liked books too much and boys barely at all, an extra irony given why she had a falling out with her parents before the holiday and what her murderer thought of her. Her mother despaired of her. All she wanted was the perfect daughter, someone to chat and gossip with, but instead she got Janet. A girl who couldn't be bothered to wear a simple white dress to the hunt ball and instead insisted on a purple gown that was a bit too grown up. But then, she got what she deserved. And Janet didn't see her death coming. She loved life. The castle that was home to her family and the eighty odd boys her father taught during term time, Auchnasaugh, she loved more than anywhere else in the world. The castle wasn't just a castle, it was her castle, her home, and somehow, when they moved there, it's almost as though her wish to be a princess had come true. She explored every room and turret and turn of the stair until it was her domain completely. The countryside she explored on foot and hoof. Watching the changing of the seasons. Rejoicing in the flora and fauna that was a part of her world. Learning about mycology from her eccentric relative Lila. She spent every minute she was indoors in her room sitting perfectly straight in a chair reading. She loved poetry, she loved the sounds certain words made, but she learned early on not to share this with anyone. Her brother thought it stupid, her younger sisters weren't anything like her, and as for when she finally went to school, her classmates thought her a joke. Who actually wants to learn Greek and worship their gods? Learning is a burden and everything else is what life is about. But not for Janet. Janet was different and therefore she got what she deserved. Because girls shouldn't want to decorate their rooms to reflect the work of Edgar Allan Poe, they should want mirrors and makeup and not have jackdaws making homes in their dollhouses. But at least her family was ride of her. At least she got what she deserved.

One can see why people superficially compare the heroine of this book traditionally to Merricat Blackwood and more contemporaneously to Flavia De Luce, but they're missing a key detail, we actually got to deeply connect with those two heroines while I know the barest hints of who Janet really is. Her story is told at a remove. We don't get to know her at all and I WANT to know about the girl who had been dying to quote Nina from The Segull to her mother and claim that she was "in mourning for [her] life." This is someone who I think I could be friends with. Instead I know that she likes Greek and hates math. I know as much about her after reading this book as I would a perfunctory job interview with her. Her entire brief life is here and yet I am as ignorant as when I started this short yet excruciatingly long book. But the worst part is I don't know if Elspeth Barker loved Janet and all her eccentricities or wanted to make an example of her, after all, she got what she deserved. It's said over and over again. She was a sixteen-year-old who was murdered and she deserved it!?! For what? For being different? Because that's what this book says again and again, if you're not normal, if you're not feminine, if you're not towing the expected line in regard to traditional gender rolls, you deserve death or the insane asylum. And yes, her eccentric relative Lila does go to the insane asylum, driven there by Janet's mother. Oh, and let's not forget the number of sexual assaults that Janet fends off. I'm sure if she hadn't been so resourceful she would have "gotten what she deserved." This book was being touted everywhere as a rediscovered classic. Who says it's a classic? Just because there are superficial inklings of the Mitfords or Dodie Smith or Shirley Jackson does that mean we are to embrace this simply odoriferous mess of victim blaming? Who said, this book is what people need to read now? No, in a post #metoo world this is the exact kind of book we should be holding up and saying NO MORE! No more to just accepting that women deserve to be victimized by their family and by the opposite sex just for existing. This book was first published in 1991 and a lot has changed in the world since then, and yet I feel like a woman author should have known better even then because it feels so dated. This tripe needs to be called out. And not just for abhorrent treatment of females but for lack of character development, lack of plot, and if anyone says the language and turn of phrase is beautiful, yeah, occasionally, but is that when Janet's describing her dream funeral or a friend of the family is showing her his cock before she pushes him into the hogweed?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: #MeToo, Auchnasaugh, Castle, Dodie Smith, Edgar Allan Poe, Elspeth Barker, Flavia De Luce, Gender Roles, Merricat, Mitfords, Murder, O Caledonia, Poetry, Scotland, Sexual Assault, Shirley Jackson, The Seagull

Ruby Spencer's Whisky Year by Rochelle Bilow
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a thirty-something American food writer moves to a Scottish village for one year to fulfill her dream of writing a cookbook she finds more than inspiration - she meets a handsome Scotsman she can't resist in this charming debut romance.

Ruby Spencer is spending one year living in a small cottage in a tiny town in the Scottish Highlands for three reasons: to write a bestselling cookbook, to drink a barrelful of whisky, and to figure out what comes next. It's hard to know what to expect after an impulse decision based on a map of Scotland in her Manhattan apartment - but she knows it's high time she had an adventure.

The moment she sets foot in Thistlecross, the verdant scenery, cozy cottages, and struggling local pub steal her heart. Between designing pop-up suppers and conversing with the colorful locals, Ruby starts to see a future that stretches beyond her year of adventure. It doesn't hurt that Brochan, the ruggedly handsome local handyman, keeps coming around to repair things at her cottage. Though Ruby swore off men, she can't help fantasizing what a roll in the barley might be like with the bearded Scot.

As Ruby grows closer to Brochan and the tightly held traditions of the charming village, she discovers secret plans to turn her beloved pub into an American chain restaurant. Faced with an impossible choice, Ruby must decide between love, loyalty, and the Highlands way of life."

Can you think of a better way to spend Valentine's Day then with a HEA?

Stone Cold Fox by Rachel Koller Croft
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A perfectly wicked debut thriller about an ambitious woman who, after a lifetime of conning alongside her mother, wants to leave her dark past behind and marry the heir to one of the country's wealthiest families.

Like any enterprising woman, Bea knows what she's worth and is determined to get all she deserves - it just so happens that what she deserves is to marry rich. Filthy rich. After years of forced instruction by her mother in the art of swindling men, a now-solo Bea wants nothing more than to close and lock the door on their sordid partnership so she can disappear safely into old-money domesticity, sealing the final phase of her escape.

When Bea chooses her ultimate target in the fully loaded, thoroughly dull and blue-blooded Collin Case, she's ready to deploy all of her tricks one last time. The challenge isn't getting the ring, but rather the approval of Collin's family and everyone else in their 1 percent tax bracket, particularly his childhood best friend, Gale Wallace-Leicester.

Going toe-to-toe with Gale isn't a threat to an expert like Bea, but what begins as an amusing cat-and-mouse game quickly develops into a dangerous pursuit of the grisly truth. Finding herself at a literal life-and-death crossroads with everything on the line, Bea must finally decide who she really wants to be.

Like mother, like daughter?"

Because sometimes grifters need to look within.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sumptuous, Gothic-infused story about a marriage that is unraveled by dark secrets, a friendship cursed to end in tragedy, and the danger of believing in fairy tales - the breathtaking adult debut from New York Times bestselling author Roshani Chokshi.

Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after - and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor's extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo's dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife's secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage...or their lives.

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive."

You always have to ask yourself, can I keep a promise. If not, you should not take what is offered.

The Collected Enchantments by Theodora Goss
Published by: Mythic Delirium Books
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 436 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A wicked stepsister frets over all the ways in which she failed to receive her mother's love. A lost woman travels through an enchanted forest looking for someone who can remind her of her name. A girl must wear down seven pairs of shoes to gain help from a witch. A fox makes a life with a human, but neither can deny their true natures. A young woman returns to her childhood home and the fantastic stories she left there. A man lets himself be taken prisoner by the Snow Queen to prove that the woman who loves him would walk barefoot through the ice to save him. Medusa cuts her hair for love.

The Collected Enchantments gathers retellings of folk and fairy tales in prose and verse from World Fantasy and Locus award-winning author Theodora Goss, creator of The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series. Drawing from her Mythopoeic Award-nominated collections In the Forest of Forgetting and Songs for Ophelia and her Mythopoeic Award-winning tome Snow White Learns Witchcraft, and adding new and uncollected stories and poems, The Collected Enchantments provides a resounding demonstration of how, as Hugo and Nebula award winner Jo Walton writes, Goss provides "a vivid, authentic and important voice" that, in the words of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association Grand Master Jane Yolen, "transposes, transforms, and transcends times, eras, and old tales with ease.""

No one can spin an old tale in a new way like Theodora Goss.

Death of a Traitor by M.C. Beaton
Published by: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: February 14th, 2023
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Sergeant Hamish Macbeth - Scotland's most quick witted but unambitious policeman - is back to investigate the disappearance of a local woman who is more than she seems, in this new mystery in M.C. Beaton's beloved, New York Times bestselling series.

Kate Hibbert is all too eager to lend a hand to her neighbors. Although she has been a resident of the sleepy village of Lochdubh for only a year, in that time Kate has alienated one too many of its residents with her interfering - and not entirely well-intentioned - ways. When Kate's neighbor sees her lugging a heavy suitcase to the bus stop, he hopes that the prying woman is leaving for good. But two weeks later, Kate's cousin arrives in town with the news that Kate has gone missing - and she demands that the local police step in.

Sergeant Hamish Macbeth is called in to investigate the disappearance, and soon he is befuddled by a storm of lies, intrigue, and scandal...and the sneaking suspicion that Kate was someone much more sinister than she claimed. Torn between loyalty to Lochdubh and his job, Hamish begins threading his way through a maze of deceit, quickly finding himself on the trail of a ruthless, treacherous murderer. If he catches the killer, peace can return to the village. If he fails, he will lose everything: his job, his home, and the life he so loves in Lochdubh."

Just the other day I was wondering why they were continuing the Agatha Raisin books but not the Hamish Macbeth ones, well turns out they are!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Raisin, Fairy Tale Retelling, Gothic, Hamish Macbeth, M.C. Beaton, Mystery, R.W. Green, Rachel Koller Croft, Rochelle Bilow, Romance, Roshani Chokshi, Scotland, Theodora Goss, Valentine's Day

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 29th, 2004
Format: Paperback, 404 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Francesca Bridgerton made a perfect match. She and John Sterling, the Earl of Kilmartin, were made for each other. And Francesca got her dream come true, her own home, her own family. John's cousin Michael even became her best friend. Michael is a notorious rake and she loves to ask him about his wicked ways. Little does she know that he would give it all up for her. The second he set eyes on her he was lost. She was his everything, but he knew he could never have her. And when John dies suddenly he can't help thinking that some greater power is playing the world's cruelest trick on him because yes, he wants Francesca but not like this, never like this. He never wanted John's life or his title so bad to live in a world without John. So he leaves for India and doesn't look back, and in one fell swoop Francesca lost her husband and her best friend. Therefore she did what she had to do, she took up not only the mantel of Countess but that of Earl and runs Kilmartin for the husband and friend she lost. Four years later Francesca comes to a realization. She wants a baby. Of course for that to happen she needs a husband. She's not even sure she can have a baby, John and her were together for two years and she miscarried after his passing. It seems a hassle to go to the work of getting a husband when she just wants a baby, but she has made up her mind and therefore sets off from Scotland earlier than usual to London to go husband hunting. As it happens Michael arrives in London at the same time as Francesca and despite the years that have passed he still loves her as he ever did. Why did she have to come to London early? Why does she have to be on the marriage market? Why can't she be his? He searches his soul and the bottom of a lot of bottles but oddly it's Colin Bridgerton who breaks through when he explains that Michael has the right to be happy. What's more, doesn't Francesca? He could give her the child she wants and she wouldn't even have to love him just be his wife. But what if they could have it all?

With a long running series it's hard to keep it fresh. Just look to Lisa Kleypas's wallflower series. She started with a set four books in mind and by Scandal in Spring had obviously run out of ideas. Here Julia Quinn has set up a series double Kleypas's in length in order to make sure all the Bridgertons get their happily ever afters and yet with the sixth book she has created perhaps one of the strongest and most unique entries in the series so far. In the previous two volumes we have gotten hints about what has been going on in Francesca's life, perhaps the least discussed Bridgerton, and it was quite shocking to find out secondhand that she had not only gotten married by that she was already widowed. Where do we go from here? We go into perhaps the most relatable and affecting of the Bridgerton series. When He Was Wicked is about love and loss and guilt and it was a melancholy tale about taking a second chance at life and love. It was about coming to terms with what has passed and finding a way to forgive yourself for wanting to move on and find happiness. At times I was moved to tears by the way Francesca and Michael handled their grief over John and their desire to love again. Romance is usually just escapism and wish fulfillment, but here I found something more, something relatable. But of course no book is perfect so there was one aspect I really didn't relate to and that's Francesca's desperate need for a child. Children are a complicated issue, as Daphne saw with her Duke. There are people who want them, people who have them and don't want them, people who can't have them, people who choose not to have them, so many different kinds of people, and yet romance tends to lean very heavily to people wanting babies. I'm sorry, but I don't feel that my entire purpose on this planet is to breed and sometimes, just sometimes, it pisses me off that romance books think that I am wrong because it's not what I want. And I get Francesca and I are in different situations, she grew up in a large family and there's the familial bond and it makes sense that she wants a baby. I just want it acknowledged that not everyone wants one. Or can be talked around to wanting one, like the Duke.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Babies, Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton, Francesca Bridgerton, Grief, Julia Quinn, Kilmartin, Lisa Kleypas, Michael Sterling, Regency Romp, Scandal in Spring, Scotland, When He Was Wicked

Recipe for Treason by Andrea Penrose
Published by: NAL
Publication Date: December 4th, 2012
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Renard, that most elusive of spies, is up to something incendiary. Which is why Arianna, her husband Sandro, and their medically inclined friend and comrade Baz are headed north to Scotland on winter blasted roads at the behest of Lord Grentham. Behest might be too kind of a word. Grentham has threatened Baz's nephew who is currently in prison in Scotland for his "radical" tendencies and if they venture north then they can free said nephew as well as investigate on Grentham's behalf. The only problem is that they are attacked on their way north, their lead turns up dead, Baz's nephew turns up dead, and a bad character, Lord Stoughton, who is the colonel in command of the region, shoots Baz. After the failure that is their trip to Scotland the only thing they know for sure is that Renard appears to have developed a method of delivering death from the sky with a new flying machine and an explosive incendiary device. Something that must not end up in Napoleon's hands. Which leads them to think that perhaps they can find answers back in London at the Royal Institution. While it is nice to go home the problem is Baz is too ill to travel and they need someone who can understand the scientific nature of their investigation and open doors that would otherwise be closed. Enter Sophia Kirtland. Arianna had learned of Miss Kirtland and her husband's weekly visits to her during their previous investigation when Lord Grentham was trying to pull Arianna to heel. She knew her marriage to Sandro wasn't a love match, even if he says he loves her now, so she assumed that Miss Kirtland is his mistress. She couldn't be more wrong. Miss Kirtland is a delightful female scientist who lives outside the conventions of society. She's a genius and a recluse, and as soon as Arianna meets her she decides that she will not only use this woman to help in their investigation but she will help Sophia become more daring, more like Arianna herself. Thankfully Sandro doesn't realize this plan because one Arianna running around England is terrifying enough. But as the two women cut a swath through the ton and make all the right scientific connections Renard isn't keeping his head in the sand. The noose is tightening but whose neck will be in it is anyone's guess.

Recipe for Treason has a lot of absurdity going on in it's pages. There's more of Arianna doing improbable disguises and cross-dressing and getting involved in chases with hot air balloons, which at times could veer towards the slapstick if it wasn't so well grounded in reality even if Arianna's feet aren't anywhere near the ground. Because science and it's discoveries were, as Andrea Penrose points out in her Author's Note, discussed by all and the men who made the discoveries were rock stars. So if you're thinking "but that couldn't possibly be happening in 1814," you're wrong. As I previously learned years ago when reading Lauren Willig's The Garden Intrigue, there were proto-submarines in the Regency so why not proto-airplanes? I mean, if you think about it Leonardo da Vinci was drawing planes in his lifetime, which ended THREE HUNDRED YEARS BEFORE this book takes place. But the science itself wasn't what I loved about this book but the scientists, and one in particular, Miss Sophia Kirtland. While Arianna is an interesting heroine, she's at times very off-putting. She's too confident, especially in her ability to disguise herself, and while it might be overcompensation to hide her insecurities, it doesn't endear me to her. I can't relate to who she is and the life she's led and every once in awhile that pulls me out of the story. She's like that friend you have that you're not quite sure you like because while she has all these interesting adventures it's too much about them and the facade they want no one to see behind. Whereas Sophia Kirtland is someone I can totally relate to. She had something bad happen to her and while she removed herself from society she didn't give up. She poured herself into her studies and experiments. She improved her mind, which is formidable, and when needed by Arianna and Sandro, she rose to the occasion more than I think she even thought herself capable of. I can't wait for her to be more involved in Arianna and Sandro's adventures because she is my cup of cocoa.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Airplanes, Andrea Penrose, Arianna Hadley, Da Vinci, Lauren Willig, Napoleon, Recipe for Treason, Regency England, Regency Romp, Science, Scientists, Scotland, Sophia Kirtland, Spies, Submarines, The Garden Intrigue

When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: June 29th, 2004
Format: Paperback, 404 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Francesca Bridgerton made a perfect match. She and John Sterling, the Earl of Kilmartin, were made for each other. And Francesca got her dream come true, her own home, her own family. John's cousin Michael even became her best friend. Michael is a notorious rake and she loves to ask him about his wicked ways. Little does she know that he would give it all up for her. The second he set eyes on her he was lost. She was his everything, but he knew he could never have her. And when John dies suddenly he can't help thinking that some greater power is playing the world's cruelest trick on him because yes, he wants Francesca but not like this, never like this. He never wanted John's life or his title so bad to live in a world without John. So he leaves for India and doesn't look back, and in one fell swoop Francesca lost her husband and her best friend. Therefore she did what she had to do, she took up not only the mantel of Countess but that of Earl and runs Kilmartin for the husband and friend she lost. Four years later Francesca comes to a realization. She wants a baby. Of course for that to happen she needs a husband. She's not even sure she can have a baby, John and her were together for two years and she miscarried after his passing. It seems a hassle to go to the work of getting a husband when she just wants a baby, but she has made up her mind and therefore sets off from Scotland earlier than usual to London to go husband hunting. As it happens Michael arrives in London at the same time as Francesca and despite the years that have passed he still loves her as he ever did. Why did she have to come to London early? Why does she have to be on the marriage market? Why can't she be his? He searches his soul and the bottom of a lot of bottles but oddly it's Colin Bridgerton who breaks through when he explains that Michael has the right to be happy. What's more, doesn't Francesca? He could give her the child she wants and she wouldn't even have to love him just be his wife. But what if they could have it all?

With a long running series it's hard to keep it fresh. Just look to Lisa Kleypas's wallflower series. She started with a set four books in mind and by Scandal in Spring had obviously run out of ideas. Here Julia Quinn has set up a series double Kleypas's in length in order to make sure all the Bridgertons get their happily ever afters and yet with the sixth book she has created perhaps one of the strongest and most unique entries in the series so far. In the previous two volumes we have gotten hints about what has been going on in Francesca's life, perhaps the least discussed Bridgerton, and it was quite shocking to find out secondhand that she had not only gotten married by that she was already widowed. Where do we go from here? We go into perhaps the most relatable and affecting of the Bridgerton series. When He Was Wicked is about love and loss and guilt and it was a melancholy tale about taking a second chance at life and love. It was about coming to terms with what has passed and finding a way to forgive yourself for wanting to move on and find happiness. At times I was moved to tears by the way Francesca and Michael handled their grief over John and their desire to love again. Romance is usually just escapism and wish fulfillment, but here I found something more, something relatable. But of course no book is perfect so there was one aspect I really didn't relate to and that's Francesca's desperate need for a child. Children are a complicated issue, as Daphne saw with her Duke. There are people who want them, people who have them and don't want them, people who can't have them, people who choose not to have them, so many different kinds of people, and yet romance tends to lean very heavily to people wanting babies. I'm sorry, but I don't feel that my entire purpose on this planet is to breed and sometimes, just sometimes, it pisses me off that romance books think that I am wrong because it's not what I want. And I get Francesca and I are in different situations, she grew up in a large family and there's the familial bond and it makes sense that she wants a baby. I just want it acknowledged that not everyone wants one. Or can be talked around to wanting one, like the Duke.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Babies, Bridgerton, Colin Bridgerton, Daphne Bridgerton, Francesca Bridgerton, Grief, Julia Quinn, Kilmartin, Lisa Kleypas, Michael Sterling, Regency Romp, Scandal in Spring, Scotland, When He Was Wicked

Love in the Time of Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith
Published by: Anchor
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The latest installment in the delightful 44 Scotland Street series finds all our favorite residents up to their usual hilarious hijinks.

In the microcosm of 44 Scotland Street, all of life’s richness is found in the glorious goings-on of its residents. There’s Domenica, whose anthropological training has honed her observations of her neighbors; Matthew, whose growing triplets are more than a handful; Bruce, whose challenge as ever is thinking of anything but himself; and Big Lou, who may just have found her shot at romance. And of course, there’s young Bertie Pollock, whose starry-eyed explorations of Edinburgh’s New Town are a touching reminder that life itself is an adventure and there’s joy to be found wherever you choose to look."

Damn I love Bertie!

Deadly Editions by Paige Shelton
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A treasure hunt through Edinburgh gives way to a search for a villain terrorizing the city in Deadly Editions, the sixth Scottish Bookshop Mystery from Paige Shelton.

It’s a quiet, snowy morning at The Cracked Spine bookshop, when bookseller Delaney Nichols receives a mysterious visitor, a messenger. He presents her with a perplexing note: an invitation to a meeting with eccentric socialite Shelagh O'Conner, who requests Delaney’s participation in an exclusive treasure hunt. Delaney is intrigued, but also cautious: Shelagh, while charming in person, has a reputation for her hijinks as a wealthy young woman in the '70s. She was even once suspected for the murder of a former boyfriend, though ultimately cleared of all charges.

But Delaney is enticed by the grand prize at the end of the treasure hunt: a highly valuable first edition copy of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson. The winner is also to receive the contents of Shelagh's vast library, and all participants will earn a large sum of cash.

The night after the first meeting of the treasure hunters, however, several homes in Edinburgh are robbed in a manner reminiscent of Shelagh's old tricks. And when a man connected to Shelagh is killed, suspicion builds. Except Shelagh herself has disappeared from her home, seemingly kidnapped by the villain.

Terror mounts throughout the city as Delaney attempts to solve the mystery, while trying to evade the killer's clutches. But it’s hard to know who to trust when around every corner, a new monster could be lurking."

I ADORE literary treasure hunts. ADORE!

Windswept and Interesting by Billy Connolly
Published by: Two Roads
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In his first full-length autobiography, comedy legend and national treasure Billy Connolly reveals the truth behind his windswept and interesting life.

Born in a tenement flat in Glasgow in 1942, orphaned by the age of 4, and a survivor of appalling abuse at the hands of his own family, Billy's life is a remarkable story of success against all the odds.

Billy found his escape first as an apprentice welder in the shipyards of the River Clyde. Later he became a folk musician - a 'rambling man' - with a genuine talent for playing the banjo. But it was his ability to spin stories, tell jokes and hold an audience in the palm of his hand that truly set him apart.

As a young comedian Billy broke all the rules. He was fearless and outspoken - willing to call out hypocrisy wherever he saw it. But his stand-up was full of warmth, humility and silliness too. His startling, hairy 'glam-rock' stage appearance - wearing leotards, scissor suits and banana boots - only added to his appeal.

It was an appearance on Michael Parkinson's chat show in 1975 - and one outrageous story in particular - that catapulted Billy from cult hero to national star. TV shows, documentaries, international fame and award-winning Hollywood movies followed. Billy's pitch-perfect stand-up comedy kept coming too - for over 50 years, in fact - until a double diagnosis of cancer and Parkinson's Disease brought his remarkable live performances to an end. Since then he has continued making TV shows, creating extraordinary drawings...and writing.

Windswept and Interesting is Billy's story in his own words. It is joyfully funny - stuffed full of hard-earned wisdom as well as countless digressions on fishing, farting and the joys of dancing naked. It is an unforgettable, life-affirming story of a true comedy legend."

If you haven't noticed I am celebrating all amazing things Scottish this week, which puts Billy Connolly at the top of my list!

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Guest List comes a new locked room mystery, set in a Paris apartment building in which every resident has something to hide...

Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up - to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this? - he’s not there.

The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

The socialite - The nice guy - The alcoholic - The girl on the verge - The concierge.

Everyone's a neighbor. Everyone's a suspect. And everyone knows something they're not telling."

Locked room mystery and Paris. Need I say more?

The Hitman's Daughter by Carolyne Topdjian
Published by: Agora Books
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 350 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Château du Ciel was once the destination for the rich and famous to play, drink and ski - complete with a private railway to shuttle those desiring extra privacy - now, however, the guests are few and far between. The New Year's Eve party was supposed to hoist the rundown hotel back to its former status, until a massive blizzard hits, trapping the guests who've come to celebrate the grand hotel's last hurrah. The circumstances might even be romantic, if the hotel wasn't reputed to be haunted.

When hotel employee Mave Michael finds the resident artist dead, and shortly thereafter hotel security finds Mave alone with the body, the reputation that Mave has fought long and hard to outrun comes back to haunt her. You see, her father is a notorious hitman who is serving multiple life sentences in prison. She has changed her name and location dozens of times, but he somehow manages to track her down - even sending her a postcard on the eve of her birthday, January 1st. She's the perfect choice to frame for murder, and now the number one suspect. Mave can no longer deny the lessons in survival her father taught her, and calls on that and her uncanny sixth-sense in "finding" lost objects to navigate the maze of the hotel. To save herself, she not only has to stop running from her own past, she must unearth the history of the hotel, its elite guests and buried secrets - one deadly sin at a time.

An homage to classic Gothic horror, that proves that the ghosts of family and classism are alive and well."

What I love about this is the combination of things you don't expect, assassins and Gothic tropes!

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From debut author Kit Mayquist, a propulsive and atmospheric modern Gothic with all the splendor of The Great Gatsby...and all the secrets, lies, and darkness that opulence can hide.

Med school dropout Lena is desperate for a job, any job, to help her parents, who are approaching bankruptcy after her father was injured and laid off nearly simultaneously. So when she is offered a position, against all odds, working for one of Boston’s most elite families, the illustrious and secretive Verdeaus, she knows she must accept it - no matter how bizarre the interview or how vague the job description.

By day, she is assistant to the family doctor and his charge, Jonathan, the sickly, poetic, drunken heir to the family empire, who is as difficult as his illness is mysterious. By night, Lena discovers the more sinister side of the family, as she works overtime at their lavish parties, helping to hide their self-destructive tendencies...and trying not to fall for Jonathan’s alluring sister, Audrey. But when she stumbles upon the knowledge that the Verdeau patriarch is the one responsible for the ruin of her own family, Lena vows to get revenge - a poison-filled quest that leads her further into this hedonistic world than she ever bargained for, forcing her to decide how much - and who - she's willing to sacrifice for payback.

The perfect next read for fans of Mexican Gothic, Tripping Arcadia is a page-turning and shocking tale with an unforgettable protagonist that explores family legacy and inheritance, the sacrifices we must make to get by in today’s world, and the intoxicating, dangerous power of wealth."

I love the idea of Gothic splendor more than I can say.

Extasia by Claire Legrand
Published by: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: February 22nd, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Claire Legrand comes a new, bone-chilling YA horror novel about a girl who joins a coven to root out a vicious evil that’s stalking her village. Perfect for fans of The Handmaid’s Tale and The Grace Year.

Her name is unimportant.

All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain— - n evil which has already killed nine of her village’s men.

She will tell no one of the white-eyed beasts that follow her. Or the faceless gray women tall as houses. Or the girls she saw kissing in the elm grove.

Today she will be a saint of Haven. She will rid her family of her mother’s shame at last and save her people from destruction. She is not afraid. Are you?

This searing and lyrically written novel by the critically acclaimed author of Sawkill Girls beckons readers to follow its fierce heroine into a world filled with secrets and blood - where the truth is buried in lies and a devastating power waits, seething, for someone brave enough to use it."

I love this cover more than I can ever adequately say.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 44 Scotland Street, Alexander McCall Smith, Billy Connolly, Carolyne Topdjian, Claire Legrand, Extasia, Gothic, Kit Mayquist, Lucy Foley, Paige Shelton, Paris, Scotland, Tripping Arcadia, Windswept and Interesting

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Published by: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: August 6th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
Rating: ★★★
To Buy

Rowan is in prison. Yes, she's the nanny who had the worst thing that could possibly happen happen. The police won't listen. No one will listen. Her fate has already been decided due to a few bad decisions on her part. She thinks if she could just get her story completely told to one person that person would understand and help her. Because no one gets what it was like at Heatherbrae House. The lack of sleep, the feeling of going mad, constantly being pushed beyond her limits. She was thrown into the deep end and she sank. She might be a flawed human being, but she is no murderer! It all seemed like a dream until it became a nightmare. The job in the middle of nowhere, the ridiculous salary, the perfectly behaved children, the chance to get away from her current job at Little Nippers, and the house. Oh, Rowan would have given anything to live there and to be a part of that family, and in the end she did. She should have known it was too good to be true. But the impeccable references got her in the door and she did the best job of selling herself she ever had and somehow she achieved the impossible, her dream job. But the interview gave her a glimpse into a nonexistent world. The smart house with it's omniscient technology might sound appealing, but it's just a means of control. Of forcing the modern and the old to coexist in a way they shouldn't. Also the remodeling of the house was just a means to scrub the past away. But that past is buried deep, like the roots of the plants in the poison garden out back. A garden conceived by a man who lost his daughter due to the very poisons he cultivated. Then there's Jack. He's the handy man. And he is very handy. Maybe too handy. He's always there when Rowan needs him but she doesn't question this until it might be too late. She should have questioned everything. She should have done better. She should have come clean sooner. Maybe then things would have turned out differently. Or maybe she was always supposed to be the catalyst for this tragedy, just a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

I have issues with The Turn of the Screw. Many, many issues. While many people have written copiously on all the plurality of meanings in The Turn of the Screw I could probably write a dissertation on why I hate it. There'd even be footnotes! But I think spending all my time dwelling on something I dislike wouldn't be the most beneficial to my health, though as I've said before, it's easier to write about something you hate than something you love. You can pinpoint with unerring accuracy everything that gets under your skin while that which makes your heart sing is almost impossible to describe. At this point you're wondering, well, then why did she pick up a retelling of The Turn of the Screw if she hates it so much? The answer is simple, I can see that this story has potential written by anyone other than Henry James and therefore I wanted to see where Ruth Ware would take it. The answer is a lot further and more futuristic than Henry James! Aside from the fact that she uses the built in horror tropes of a smart home perfectly, a home I would never live in because even my phone stopped reading my fingerprint, the bones of this version make it the best version of The Turn of the Screw I have yet read. Notice I am not mentioning The Haunting of Bly Manor, because that was watched, and that is now the pinnacle of perfection all retellings of The Turn of the Screw should be aiming for. What this retelling did so well is make us actually care about the characters and the family dynamic. Plus, with double the number of children, it's like Russian roulette, at least one of them is going down, and you can't be sure which one! So not only did I care if these characters lived or died, the fact that they were all in jeopardy made me turn the pages at breakneck speed. I was totally invested in a story that I thought would be just a mild diversion. Because of this I really started to over-analyze everything. There are weird little errors throughout the book. Rowan purposefully picks up an iPad when leaving the kitchen to watch the children but then ends up using her phone instead. The dog beds move from the weird servants pantry to the kitchen. There are all these little things that add up and I wonder, was it purposeful to highlight the fact that Rowan is an unreliable narrator? Or accidental? If accidental, this is the first time a lack in editing has paid off.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Going Gothic, Heatherbrae House, Henry James, Jack Grant, Murder, Nanny, Poison Garden, Retelling, Rowan Caine, Ruth Ware, Scotland, Smart Home, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Turn of the Key, The Turn of the Screw

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

Since their Oxford days a motley group of thirtysomethings have rung in the New Year together. Though this year they aren't all festive holiday joy as they arrive at the idyllic and isolated estate, Loch Corrin, in the Scottish Highlands. Mark's newish girlfriend Emma has arranged the trip for his college friends down to the very last detail. Of course, she couldn't control the weather, the fact that there is another group at the lodge, or all the secrets the group is concealing from one another. But this group has survived this long, what's one more New Year's Eve? Miranda has always been the leader of the group. The life of the party. But her supposedly perfect life is starting to careen out of control and her husband, Julien, has many secrets, only a few that she knows. She thinks a baby would solve everything. Boy is she wrong. Katie, who is a successful lawyer, has been putting her career ahead of her life for too long and while Miranda might think she's Katie's best friend, more and more she's been turning to Nick, who is there with his boyfriend Bo. As for Samira and Giles, they are so wrapped up with their newborn and the fact that they haven't slept since the birth that they barely notice they are on vacation. But when trapped together how long will fake bonhomie and champagne get you? How long can you reminiscence about the past? They have all changed over the intervening decade since they graduated college and not everyone is willing to accept the change. Not everyone is who they say they are. And what of the staff at Loch Corrin? Can they be trusted? Being trapped in the wilderness with your supposed best friends might be a nightmare, but trapped in the wilderness with strangers could be the most dangerous thing that could happen to this group. Trapped by the blizzard they have no way of escaping each other and one of them will die at the hands of another. But who will die and who will kill? Only the New Year will reveal all.

This is a book that pulls a bait and switch, in that your read the blurb, you see it compared to Tana French and Ruth Ware and Agatha Christie, you look at the cover, you think, country house in the Scottish highlands, a blizzard, a betrayal, and murder! YAS! I will read that! Instead you get a modern glass building with cabins for all the guests and no suspense at all. I figured out the killer in about two seconds because of the limited choice of narrators. It was like a vicious Peter's Friends, wherein you actually hope they all kill each other, mixed with that stupid Kevin Bacon house movie that got all those rave reviews, but it should be noted that this doesn't have the supernatural twist. It had no twist. Now I'm not saying that this couldn't have worked in the glass hunting lodge or with this cast of characters, I'm saying that it needed to be better written to work with the environment and suspects. Also it totally needed a different cover. I mean, seriously, did the designer even read the book or was it designed off the deceptive blurb? OK, I need to STOP bitching about the cover so let's concentrate on what annoyed me the most, and yes, I'm totally going to ignore the stupid secondary plot about what's going on at this resort because it doesn't even deserve a mention, what annoyed me was the choice in narrators. So we have four females told in first person and one male told in third person, which, yes, I'm groaning at the cliche of switching narration styles even as I type this. But the problem with this is it narrows the events from this motley cast of twelve or so characters to four. Because obviously the killer and the victim are among these four first person narrators. Why Lucy Foley would show her hand in such an obvious manner is beyond comprehension to me. What's more one of those narrators has no connection to the group, so she's immediately eliminated. So you can see why I think this is the biggest failing of the book. What's worse though is that every woman sounds the same. If each section didn't have the character's name at the start you would have no idea who was talking at you. The characters are just cardboard cutouts that all sound the same. Do yourself a favor and just steer clear of this party.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Blizzard, College Friends, Design Fail, First Person, Going Gothic, Lucy Foley, Murder, New Year's Eve, Peter's Friends, Ruth Ware, Scotland, Secrets, Tana French, The Hunting Party, Third Person

Philippa Gregory miniseries are like crack to me. I need them so much it hurts. The White Queen, The White Princess, The Spanish Princess, yes, yes, and yes, I need them so much I can barely handle it. In fact when are we getting a new one? No, I'm serious, I NEED TO KNOW! I also love how we've been following these characters through different iterations and different actors now for seven years! I can't comprehend that it's been that long but it has. While The White Queen might still be my favorite, The Spanish Princess was the only one lucky enough to secure a second season. And while I knew when this series ended we'd no longer get to see Catherine onscreen anymore, but we all know what happened to Catherine so I'm OK with that, because unlike any of the other series this one wouldn't be able to survive recasting. Charlotte Hope is and forever will be Catherine of Aragon. The fact that she's British and not Spanish will probably come as much of a shock to other fans of the show as it was for me. Her accent is perfect, her mighty will in that small, frail, female body, it's like a mouse with the roar of a lion and it is unforgettable. Give this woman an Emmy NOW! It takes a lot to be so central a figure to a miniseries, even if your character is technically the star, when you're surrounded by the cream of the crop of British actors; Laura Carmichael, Andrew Buchan, Ray Stevenson, Harriet Walter, Elliot Cowan, and freakin' Peter Egan to name a few! Yet she holds the focus even while sharing scenes with these titans of the small screen. In fact the scenes with her and Peter Egan as General Thomas Howard are just perfection, and funny, with her being a Catholic and him being someone unrepentant of his foul language except in her presence. But my favorite part of season two was the increased insanity of the Tudors, oddly not exemplified by Henry but by his sister Meg as she tries to rule Scotland. Seeing Georgie Henley, who is famous for playing Lucy Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia films, go medieval on the Scottish clans asses was a sight to behold. She was magnificently deranged and worthy of a spin-off. In fact, can we make that happen?   

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Catherine of Aragon, Charlotte Hope, Lucy Pevensie, Peter Egan, Philippa Gregory, Scotland, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Spanish Princess, THe White Princess, The White Queen, Tudors

The Betrayals by Bridget Collins
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: May 18th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An intricate and utterly spellbinding literary epic brimming with enchantment, mystery, and dark secrets from the highly acclaimed author of the #1 international bestseller The Binding.

If your life was based on a lie, would you risk it all to tell the truth?

At Montverre, an ancient and elite academy hidden high in the mountains, society’s best and brightest are trained for excellence in the grand jeu - the great game - an arcane and mysterious competition that combines music, art, math, poetry, and philosophy. Léo Martin once excelled at Montverre but lost his passion for scholarly pursuits after a violent tragedy. He turned to politics instead and became a rising star in the ruling party, until a small act of conscience cost him his career. Now he has been exiled back to Montverre, his fate uncertain.

But this rarified world of learning Léo once loved is not the same place he remembers. Once the exclusive bastion of men, Montverre’s most prestigious post is now held by a woman: Claire Dryden, also known as the Magister Ludi, the head of the great game. At first, Léo feels an odd attraction to the magister - a mysterious, eerily familiar connection - though he’s sure they’ve never met before.

As the legendary Midsummer Game approaches - the climax of the academy’s year - long-buried secrets rise to the surface and centuries-old traditions are shockingly overturned.

A highly imaginative and intricately crafted literary epic, The Betrayals confirms Bridget Collins as one of the most inventive and exquisite new voices in speculative fiction."

I am always here for a great game!

The Lights of Prague by Nicole Javis
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: May 18th, 2021
Format: Paperbacks, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers of VE Schwab and The Witcher, science and magic clash in atmospheric gaslight-era Prague.

In the quiet streets of Prague all manner of mysterious creatures lurk in the shadows. Unbeknownst to its citizens, their only hope against the tide of predators are the dauntless lamplighters - secret elite of monster hunters whose light staves off the darkness each night. Domek Myska leads a life teeming with fraught encounters with the worst kind of evil: pijavice, bloodthirsty and soulless vampiric creatures. Despite this, Domek finds solace in his moments spent in the company of his friend, the clever and beautiful Lady Ora Fischerová - a widow with secrets of her own.

When Domek finds himself stalked by the spirit of the White Lady - a ghost who haunts the baroque halls of Prague castle - he stumbles across the sentient essence of a will-o’-the-wisp captured in a mysterious container. Now, as it's bearer, Domek wields its power, but the wisp, known for leading travellers to their deaths, will not be so easily controlled.

After discovering a conspiracy amongst the pijavice that could see them unleash terror on the daylight world, Domek finds himself in a race against those who aim to twist alchemical science for their own dangerous gain."

Does anyone else pick books based on location? Because seriously, Prague, ALWAYS!

Madam by Phoebe Wynne
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: May 18th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Phoebe Wynne's Madam is a riveting, modern Gothic debut with shades of The Secret History, The Stepford Wives, and a dash of Circe, set at a secretive all girls’ boarding school perched on a craggy Scottish peninsula.

They want our silence...
They want our obedience...
Let them see our fire burn.

For 150 years, high above rocky Scottish cliffs, Caldonbrae Hall has sat untouched, a beacon of excellence in an old ancestral castle. A boarding school for girls, it promises that the young women lucky enough to be admitted will emerge “resilient and ready to serve society.”

Into its illustrious midst steps Rose Christie: a 26-year-old Classics teacher, Caldonbrae’s new head of the department, and the first hire for the school in over a decade. At first, Rose is overwhelmed to be invited into this institution, whose prestige is unrivaled. But she quickly discovers that behind the school’s elitist veneer lies an impenetrable, starkly traditional culture that she struggles to reconcile with her modernist beliefs - not to mention her commitment to educating “girls for the future.”

It also doesn’t take long for Rose to suspect that there’s more to the secret circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of her predecessor - a woman whose ghost lingers everywhere - than anyone is willing to let on. In her search for this mysterious former teacher, Rose instead uncovers the darkness that beats at the heart of Caldonbrae, forcing her to confront the true extent of the school’s nefarious purpose, and her own role in perpetuating it.

A darkly feminist tale pitched against a haunting backdrop, and populated by an electrifying cast of heroines, Madam will keep readers engrossed until the breathtaking conclusion."

No one has been sleeping well anyway, so why not give yourself a deliciously Gothic reason why!?!

Goblin: A Novel in Six Novellas by Josh Malerman
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: May 18th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box and Malorie comes a chilling story that revolves around a mysterious small town, revealing its sinister secrets one by one.

Goblin seems like any other ordinary small town. But with the master storyteller Josh Malerman as your tour guide, you’ll discover the secrets that hide behind its closed doors. These six novellas tell the story of a place where the rain is always falling, nighttime is always near, and your darkest fears and desires await. Welcome to Goblin....

A Man in Slices: A man proves his “legendary love” to his girlfriend with a sacrifice even more daring than Vincent van Gogh’s - and sends her more than his heart.

Kamp: Walter Kamp is afraid of everything, but most afraid of being scared to death. As he sets traps around his home to catch the ghosts that haunt him, he learns that nothing is more terrifying than fear itself.

Happy Birthday, Hunter!: A famed big-game hunter is determined to capture - and kill - the ultimate prey: the mythic Great Owl who lives in Goblin’s dark forests. But this mysterious creature is not the only secret the woods are keeping.

Presto: All Peter wants is to be like his hero, Roman Emperor, the greatest magician in the world. When the famous magician comes to Goblin, Peter discovers that not all magic is just an illusion.

A Mix-Up at the Zoo: The new zookeeper feels a mysterious kinship with the animals in his care...and finds that his work is freeing dark forces inside him.

The Hedges: When his wife dies, a man builds a hedge maze so elaborate no one ever solves it - until a little girl resolves to be the first to find the mysteries that wait at its heart."

I am totally here for the hedge maze and that delightfully eighties cover art.

Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication Date: May 18th, 2021
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A propulsive, scorching modern Gothic, Yes, Daddy follows an ambitious young man who is lured by an older, successful playwright into a dizzying world of wealth and an idyllic Hamptons home where things take a nightmarish turn.

Jonah Keller moved to New York City with dreams of becoming a successful playwright, but, for the time being, lives in a rundown sublet in Bushwick, working extra hours at a restaurant only to barely make rent. When he stumbles upon a photo of Richard Shriver - the glamorous Pulitzer Prize - winning playwright and quite possibly the stepping stone to the fame he craves - Jonah orchestrates their meeting. The two begin a hungry, passionate affair.

When summer arrives, Richard invites his young lover for a spell at his sprawling estate in the Hamptons. A tall iron fence surrounds the idyllic compound where Richard and a few of his close artist friends entertain, have lavish dinners, and - Jonah can’t help but notice - employ a waitstaff of young, attractive gay men, many of whom sport ugly bruises. Soon, Jonah is cast out of Richard’s good graces and a sinister underlay begins to emerge. As a series of transgressions lead inexorably to a violent climax, Jonah hurtles toward a decisive revenge that will shape the rest of his life.

Riveting, unpredictable, and compulsively readable, Yes, Daddy is an exploration of class, power dynamics, and the nuances of victimhood and complicity. It burns with weight and clarity - and offers hope that stories may hold the key to our healing."

This sounds like a delicious thriller from the seventies, and I am HERE FOR IT!

Last Summer at the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: May 18th, 2021
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A family reunion for the ages when two clans convene for the summer at their beloved getaway in the Catskills - perfect for fans of Dirty Dancing and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - from the acclaimed author of The Floating Feldmans.

In its heyday, The Golden Hotel was the crown jewel of the hotter-than-hot Catskills vacation scene. For more than sixty years, the Goldman and Weingold families - best friends and business partners - have presided over this glamorous resort which served as a second home for well-heeled guests and celebrities. But the Catskills are not what they used to be - and neither is the relationship between the Goldmans and the Weingolds. As the facilities and management begin to fall apart, a tempting offer to sell forces the two families together again to make a heart-wrenching decision. Can they save their beloved Golden or is it too late?

Long-buried secrets emerge, new dramas and financial scandal erupt, and everyone from the traditional grandparents to the millennial grandchildren wants a say in the hotel’s future. Business and pleasure clash in this fast-paced, hilarious, nostalgia-filled story, where the hotel owners rediscover the magic of a bygone era of nonstop fun even as they grapple with what may be their last resort."

To get you in the mood for summer and tide you over until there's a new season of Mrs. Maisel! 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Bridget Collins, Elyssa Friedland, Goblin, Gothic, Jonathan Parks-Ramage, Josh Malerman, Last Summer at the Golden Hotel, Madam, Nicole Javis, Phoebe Wynne, Scotland, The Betrayals, The Lights of Prague, Yes Daddy