strange and random happenstance

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and The Devil and the Dark Water comes an inventive, high-concept murder mystery: an ingenious puzzle, an extraordinary backdrop, and an audacious solution.

Solve the murder to save what's left of the world.

Outside the island there is nothing: the world was destroyed by a fog that swept the planet, killing anyone it touched.

On the island: it is idyllic. One hundred and twenty-two villagers and three scientists, living in peaceful harmony. The villagers are content to fish, farm and feast, to obey their nightly curfew, to do what they're told by the scientists.

Until, to the horror of the islanders, one of their beloved scientists is found brutally stabbed to death. And then they learn that the murder has triggered a lowering of the security system around the island, the only thing that was keeping the fog at bay. If the murder isn't solved within 107 hours, the fog will smother the island - and everyone on it.

But the security system has also wiped everyone's memories of exactly what happened the night before, which means that someone on the island is a murderer - and they don't even know it.

And the clock is ticking."

I am SO excited for this book. I already have my signed copy preordered!

Once Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware
Published by: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Harkening to Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them - from Ruth Ware, the New York Times bestselling author who "is turning out to be as ingenious and indefatigable as the Queen of Crime" (The Washington Post).

Lyla is in a bit of a rut. Her post-doctoral research has fizzled out, she's pretty sure they won't extend her contract, and things with her boyfriend, Nico, an aspiring actor, aren't going great. When the opportunity arises for Nico to join the cast of a new reality TV show, One Perfect Couple, she decides to try out with him. A whirlwind audition process later, Lyla find herself whisked off to a tropical paradise with Nico, boating through the Indian Ocean towards Ever After Island, where the two of them will compete against four other couples - Bayer and Angel, Dan and Santana, Joel and Romi, and Conor and Zana - in order to win a cash prize.

But not long after they arrive on the deserted island, things start to go wrong. After the first challenge leaves everyone rattled and angry, an overnight storm takes matters from bad to worse. Cut off from the mainland by miles of ocean, deprived of their phones, and unable to contact the crew that brought them there, the group must band together for survival. As tensions run high and fresh water runs low, Lyla finds that this game show is all too real - and the stakes are life or death.

A fast-paced, spellbinding thriller rife with intrigue and characters that feel so true to life, this novel proves yet again that Ruth Ware is the queen of psychological suspense."

Yes, it's time for beach read season, and well, I think this is the winner out of the gate.

The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A bestselling thriller author arranges a luxury train trip that is not what it appears to be in this electrifying modern homage to Agatha Christie from the author of the "tense and twisty" (Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author) The Chateau.

Reclusive, mysterious author Ginevra Ex is famous for her unusual approach to crafting her big bestselling thrillers: she hires real people and conducts intensive interviews, then fictionalizes them. Her latest main character, Rory, is thrilled when Ginevra presents her with an extravagant bonus - a lavish trip along Italy's Mediterranean coast on the famed, newly renovated Orient Express. But when Rory boards the train, she's stunned to discover that her brother, her best friend, and even her ex-fiancé are passengers, as well. All invited by Ginevra, all hiding secrets.

With each stop, from Cinque Terre to Rome to Positano, it becomes increasingly clear that Ginevra has masterminded the ultimate real life twisty plot with Rory as her main character. And as Ginevra's deceptions mount, and the lies and machinations of Rory's travel companions pile up, Rory begins to fear that her trip will culminate like one of Ginevra's books: with a murder or two. In the opulent compartments of the iconic train, Rory must untangle the shocking reasons why Ginevra wanted them all aboard - and to what deadly end.

Another stylish and compulsively readable mystery from Jaclyn Goldis, this is the perfect read for fans of Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and Paula Hawkins."

I mean, someone who stages their books in real life? I want to meet this demented (sadly fictional) author!

Still Waters by Matt Goldman
Published by: Forge
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"If you're reading this email, I am dead. I know this will sound strange, but someone has been trying to kill me.

Liv and Gabe Ahlstrom are estranged siblings who haven't seen each other in years, but that's about to change when they receive a rare call from their older brother's wife. "Mack is dead," she says. "He died of a seizure." Five minutes after they hang up, Liv and Gabe each receive a scheduled email from their dead brother, claiming that he was murdered.

The siblings return to their family-run resort in the Northwoods of Minnesota to investigate Mack's claims, but Leech Lake has more in store for them than either could imagine. Drawn into a tangled web of lies and betrayal that spans decades, they put their lives on the line to unravel the truth about their brother, their parents, themselves, and the small town in which they grew up. After all, no one can keep a secret in a small town, but someone in Leech Lake is willing to kill for the truth to stay buried.

New York Times bestselling and Emmy award-winning author Matt Goldman returns with a gripping, emotional thrill ride in this compelling story on grief and uncovering the past before it's too late."

I mean, Leech Lake? If I had a resort there I'd try to do some rebranding...

When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An outsider threatens to expose the secrets at an elite private school in this suspenseful debut novel for readers of My Dark Vanessa and Dare Me.

Louise Manson is the newest student at Highfield Manor, Dublin's most exclusive private school. It seems nearly perfect: the high arched window alcoves and tall granite pillars, the overspill of lilac at the front gate and the immaculate playing fields, the giggling students, the dusty, oak-lined library, and the dark, festering secret she has come to expose.

At first, Lou's working-class status makes her the consummate outsider, though all that changes when she is befriended by the beautiful and wealthy Shauna Power. But Lou finds out that even Shauna is caught up in Highfield's web, and her time there ends with a lifeless body sprawled at her feet.

Thirty years later, Lou has rebuilt her life after the harrowing events of the so-called "Highfield Affair," when she gets a shocking phone call. Ronan Power, Shauna's brother, is a high-profile lawyer bringing a lawsuit against the school. And he needs Lou to testify.

Now with a daughter and career to protect, the last thing Lou wants is for Highfield Manor to be back in her life. But to finally free herself and others, she has to confront her past, go to battle once more, and discover, for once and for all, what really happened at Highfield. Powerful and compelling, When We Were Silent is an unputdownable, thrilling story of exploitation, privilege, and retribution."

Oh yes, don't keep silent any longer, spill the secrets! Tell me all!

Death Behind Every Door by Heather Graham
Published by: Mira Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the shadows of a Scottish castle, something deadly is lurking in every corner...

When FBI special agent Luke Kendrick discovers chilling evidence of dozens of victims at a crime scene in London, he recognizes the calling card of the notorious H. H. Holmes Society. Named for the eighteenth-century monster regarded as America's first serial killer, the society is comprised of a twisted web of killers, working to carry out heinous murders in Holmes's memory. And now the group's been linked to a Scottish castle turned B and B - where guests check in but never check out.

Arriving at the sinister Graystone Castle posed as a tourist, Luke is joined by Special Agent Carly MacDonald, and the pair is immediately confronted by dangers hidden in the castle's depths. With guests disappearing and a network of killers closing in, Luke and Carly have only each other to rely on - and they'll have to race to cut off the head of the snake before the blood trail of the past can culminate in a very real and deadly present."

Oh, H.H. Holmes acolytes! Time for me to check in.

The Village Detectives and the Art of Murder by Fiona Walker
Published by: Boldwood Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Welcome to the beautiful English village of Inkbury. Tucked deep in the North Wessex Downs, it's only claim to fame is the picturesque riverside that once appeared in a Richard Curtis movie. That is, until the murder...

Former stand-up comic Juno Mulligan has been suffering a serious sense-of-humour failure. Not only has she lost the love of her life, but she's having to relocate to the (admittedly idyllic) village of Inkbury to watch out for her elderly mother, who she's genuinely worried might be marrying a wife-killer.

She hopes that her old friend, disgraced-journalist-turned-novelist Phoebe Fredericks can help her crack the case of whether her mother's perma-tanned, iceberg-smiled, three-times-a-widower fiancé is hiding a murderous past.

But before they have a chance, the local art dealer washes up distinctly dead in the village's famous river. His lover is in the frame, but Juno and Phoebe suspect that there is a deeper secret…One that relates to Phoebe's own past and Juno's present.

Will the unofficial Village Detective Agency solve the mystery before the killer strikes again? In sleepy Inkbury, as they soon discover, living one's best midlife can be murder.

An utterly gripping cozy crime mystery, from million-copy bestselling Fiona Walker, guaranteed to absolutely delight fans of Richard Osman, Janet Evanovich and the Reverend Richard Coles."

The Richard Curtis reference made me snort laugh.

The Last Hope by Susan Elia MacNeal
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"All will be revealed in this no-holds-barred finale of the New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated Maggie Hope series as the intrepid spy teams up with fashion designer - and possible double agent - Coco Chanel to bring down the physicist behind Nazi Germany's nuclear program.

Maggie Hope has come a long way since she was Mr. Churchill's secretary. In the face of tremendous danger, she's learned espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. But things are different now that she has so much to lose, including the possibility of a family with John Sterling, the man who's long held her heart.

British Intelligence has ordered Maggie to assassinate Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who may deliver a world-ending fission bomb for Germany. She's shaken. An assassination is unlike anything she has ever done. How can the Allies even be sure Nazi Germany has a bomb? Determined to gather more information, Maggie travels to Madrid, where Heisenberg is visiting for a lecture.

At the same time, couturier Coco Chanel, a spy in her own right with ambiguous loyalties, has requested a mysterious meeting with the British ambassador in Madrid - and has requested Maggie join them. As the two play a dangerous game of cat and mouse, Maggie tries to get a better understanding of Heisenberg, but is faced with betrayal and a threat more terrifying than losing her own life.

Maggie desperately wants to find her happily-ever-after, but as the war reaches a fever pitch, the stakes keep rising. Now, more than ever, the choices she makes will reverberate around the globe, touching everyone she loves - with fateful implications for the future of the free world."

You just KNOW Susan Elia MacNeal has been holding on to this perfect title for the last book in her series.

The Lamplighter by Crystal J. Bell
Published by: Flux
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's an honor to bring light to the dark. The nineteenth-century whaling village of Warbler is famous for its lucky ship figureheads - and infamous for people disappearing into the nightly fog. In this murky locale, the lamplighter is synonymous with safety and protection, and it's a position Temperance assumes when her father is found hanging from one of the lampposts. Though Tempe proves competent, the town is still hesitant to let a woman handle this responsibility. When a girl disappears after two lamps go out, Tempe's ability to provide for her mother and younger sister hangs in the balance. She scrambles for answers, hindered at every turn by the village authorities' call for her removal. As more villagers vanish under her watch, Tempe discovers unsettling truths about the famous Warbler figureheads and her own beloved father. But her warnings of a monster are ignored, even by her own family. Now she must follow the light out of her own fog of despair, as she faces the choice to look the other way or risk speaking out and possibly dooming herself and her sister to be among the lost."

I mean, obviously there has to be a monster in the fog right? Even if it's shaped like a man, it's still a monster...

You Like It Darker by Stephen King
Published by: Scribner Book Company
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 3512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From legendary storyteller and master of short fiction Stephen King comes an extraordinary new collection of twelve short stories, many never-before-published, and some of his best EVER.

"You like it darker? Fine, so do I," writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel "the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind," and in You Like It Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

"Two Talented Bastids" explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In "Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream," a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In "Rattlesnakes," a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. In "The Dreamers," a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. "The Answer Man" asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King's ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it."

Why does it sound like the sequel to Cujo might be about a haunted puppet? King does like his haunted dolls...

Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Love brings down the haunted house in this captivating romance from the acclaimed author of The Romantic Agenda.

Lucky Hart has a special affinity for the supernatural but almost no one takes parapsychology seriously. She's estranged from her family, lost her friends, and has been rejected from graduate school. Twice. But her big break finally arrives when she gets insider info about a troubled production company. Every actor on their new show mysteriously quits after spending three nights inside Hennessee House, an old Victorian with a notorious reputation.

After scheming her way onto the show to investigate, Lucky meets Maverick Phillips and chemistry instantly crackles between them. He tempts her in ways no one ever has, challenging and supporting her, and making her finally feel seen. Their connection is so palpable everyone notices it - including Hennesee House.

Now Lucky and Maverick's relationship has a challenger: the lonely, sentient house desperate for her undivided attention. As love begins to clash with career, Lucky refuses to choose one over the other because everyone deserves a happily ever after, even houses with haunted hearts. But when all her plans begin backfiring one-by-one, she realizes that if she wants to have it all? She'll have to risk everything."

Aw, even the haunted house deserves a happy ending. Aw. 

The Incorrigibles by Meredith Jaeger
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From USA Today bestselling author Meredith Jaeger comes an emotionally resonant novel about two women whose lives intersect as one resists the gentrification of her San Francisco neighborhood, and the other, eighty years earlier, fights for her freedom in nineteenth-century America....

1890, San Francisco. Seduced by her employer's nephew, Annie Gilmurray, an Irish maid, is accused of stealing the ring he promised her. Sentenced to one year in San Quentin, Annie is heartbroken and frightened among the inmates of the women's ward: prostitutes, murderers, and pickpockets. But Annie finds beauty and friendship in a brutal place, where the women look out for one another, dreaming of a better life after release. But their world inside San Quentin's walls is a dangerous one, and when the unthinkable happens, Annie makes a choice that will alter the course of her future forever.

1972, San Francisco. Aspiring photographer Judy Morelli is grappling with the searing betrayal of her husband's infidelity, subletting a San Francisco apartment while she pieces her life back together. When Judy discovers Annie's mugshot, she becomes fascinated and invested not just in Annie's fate but also in the history of her gentrifying South of Market Street neighborhood, joining the fight against redevelopment to maintain its rich community.

Exploring the different ways in which we are imprisoned and how we can break free, The Incorrigibles is a story of women reaching across the barriers of time, the unbreakable bonds of female friendship, and the forgotten histories of those pushed to society's margins."

Yes, female empowerment in San Francisco through the ages!

A Gamble at Sunset by Vanessa Riley
Published by: Zebra
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Award-winning author Vanessa Riley turns all convention on its head for the first in an enchanting, dazzlingly diverse new Regency romance trilogy featuring a duke, three sisters, and a tantalizing bet with a most desirable reward...

When a duke discovers the woman he loves was tricked into marrying another, the master chess player makes the now-widowed Viscountess the highest-stakes wager of his life in a last-ditch effort to win her affection: he will find husbands for her two sisters - or depart forever...

Georgina Wilcox, a wallflower with hidden musical talents, is furious when her reclusive older sister - the recently widowed Viscountess - refuses sorely needed help from the Duke of Torrance, the only gentleman who has shown kindness to the bereft Wilcox sisters. Georgina decides to get back at her sister and shock the Viscountess by kissing the first willing stranger she meets in the enchanting gardens of Anya House. Unfortunately, her sister is not the sole witness. A group of reporters and the ton's leading gossips catch Georgina in a passionate embrace with a reticent composer, Lord Mark Sebastian.

The third son of an influential marquis, the tongue-tied Mark is determined to keep the scandal from ruining Georgina's reputation and his own prospects of winning the celebrated Harlbert's Prize for music. Under the guise of private voice lessons, the two embark on a daring gamble to fool the ton into believing that their feigned courtship is honorable while bolstering Georgina's singing genius to captivate potential suitors. Sexist cartoons, family rivalries, and an upcoming ball test the fake couple's resolve. Will their sudden fiery collaboration - and growing attraction - prove there's nothing false about a first kiss and scandalously irresistible temptation?"

Sigh, Regency romance and Vanessa Riley FINALLY getting a good cover to one of her books!

The Heiress's Daughter by Anne Gracie
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A dashing rake must prove he has changed his scandalous ways to win his one true love from the arms of another, in a witty new Regency romance from the national bestselling author of The Rake's Daughter.

Heiress Clarissa Studley yearns to be loved for more than her fortune. Warmhearted, but plain and shy, she wishes to marry, but has two firm rules: no rakes and no fortune-hunters - her father was both, and she'll never forget the misery he caused.

So, when Race, Lord Randall, starts to pay Clarissa attention, she knows she must keep him at a distance. Attractive and charming he might be, Race's reputation precedes him and she's observed first hand his flirtatious ways with London society beauties. But Race sees a beauty in Clarissa that others cannot, and for the first time in his life, he is truly in love. And when a rival for Clarissa's affections appears - a handsome, wounded war hero, heir to his great-aunt's fortune - Race becomes desperate as Clarissa seems tempted to make a safer, tamer choice.

Can Race convince Clarissa that his love is true and that she can trust him with her heart? And can Clarissa put aside her unhappy past, and follow her heart, despite the risk of loving a rake?"

Come on, rakes are the most fun to romance!

The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspired by Beauty and the Beast and the myth of Hades and Persephone, this lush and enchanting enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance is perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Scarlett St. Clair.

Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. With her parents gone, it's Wren's responsibility to ensure she and her sister survive the harsh and endless winter, but if the legends are to be believed, their home may not be safe for much longer.

For three hundred years, the land surrounding Edgewood has been encased in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier that protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond, weakens. Only one thing can stop the Shade's fall: the blood of a mortal woman bound in wedlock to the North Wind, a dangerous immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules. And the time has come to choose his bride.

When the North Wind sets his eyes on Wren's sister, Wren will do anything to save her - even if it means sacrificing herself in the process. But mortal or not, Wren won't go down without a fight...

The North Wind is a stand-alone, enemies-to-lovers slow-burn fantasy romance, the first in a series sprinkled with Greek mythology."

I've always been a sucker for anything Beauty and the Beast related, throw in the gorgeous cover and I'm sold. 

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: May 21st, 2024
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Groundhog Day meets Guardians of the Galaxy in Django Wexler's laugh-out-loud fantasy tale about a young woman who, tired of defending humanity from the Dark Lord, decides to become the Dark Lord herself.

Davi has done this all before. She's tried to be the hero and take down the all-powerful Dark Lord. A hundred times she's rallied humanity and made the final charge. But the time loop always gets her in the end. Sometimes she's killed quickly. Sometimes it takes a while. But she's been defeated every time.

This time? She's done being the hero and done being stuck in this endless time loop. If the Dark Lord always wins, then maybe that's who she needs to be. It's Davi's turn to play on the winning side."

Because who says you can't be the Dark Lord of your own story?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anne Gracie, Claire Kann, Crystal J. Bell, Fiona McPhillips, Fiona Walker, Heather Graham, Jaclyn Goldis, Matt Goldman, Meredith Jaeger, Ruth Ware, Stephen King, Stuart Turton, Susan Elia MacNeal, Vanessa Riley

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: February 8th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 458 Pages
Rating: ★★★★
To Buy

Doctor Sebastian Bell loses all memory of who he is while in the woods with the name "Anna" dying on his lips. Soon he hears a reply calling for help and then the air is split by the sound of a gun being discharged. Not knowing who he is or where he is, he knows a crime has been committed and must find help. He stumbles for what seems hours until he finds a house. He is let inside and up to a room that is supposedly his. He finds an invitation addressed to a "Doctor Sebastian Bell" requesting his presence at Blackheath House for the return of Evelyn Hardcastle from Paris. So that is who he is, Doctor Sebastian Bell. He tries to compose himself while sloughing off the filth of the forest. While he knows he might not remember anything beyond this morning he knows a crime has been committed and he fears Anna is dead. He must solve this mystery no matter what obstacles are put in his path. And currently his path is blocked by someone dressed as a plague doctor. Someone who tries to convince him Anna isn't his concern. Someone who tries to tell him his only goal for the moment is to get the lay of the land. Yet his concern and curiosity is insatiable and he goes in search of Anna, finding a note from her that is oddly prescient and requesting a meeting later that night. Sebastian starts to not only fear for Anna's life but his own. Soon the prodigal daughter herself, Evelyn, is helping Sebastian in his search for Anna. It appears Blackheath House isn't a stranger to murder, Evelyn's own brother was killed years before down by the lake. Anna misses their appointed meeting, making Sebastian fear the worst, and when he returns to his room everything goes black. And then he wakes up again. And again. And again...

So, a fair amount of book reviews start with a little summery of the book, like this one here does. But whereas most reviewers are doing it to give you an overview of what to expect my reasoning is far different. I do it because it's me writing what I think the blurb on the back of the book should have been. So many book blurbs give an entirely erroneous description that I feel a need to fix it. Likewise so many book blurbs spoil important plot twists that I feel I have to shelter everyone from the spoilers. Unless I really hate the book than I'll probably spoil away. I remember a book review Nick Hornby wrote about Wilkie Collins's No Name and how under no circumstances should you read the blurb because it revealed a huge plot twist and royally pissed him off. No one wants their enjoyment spoiled by a reckless copywriter! While yes, the "original" blurb for this book is part of the reason I picked it up, I felt that it just gave too much away. In fact it's hard to write a review for this book because so much of what I loved, the twists and turns, I want you to experience and enjoy for yourself. This isn't a book to be passively consumed, you become a part of it, working out all the tiny details and trying to solve all the mysteries before the final curtain. I might have considered flow charts at one point, but decided that was taking it too far. But to find a book that you actively want to be a part of, that you can't wait to pick up again, to dig into the story, that is a blessing. This book just doesn't take you away, it asks you to come along for the ride of a lifetime, part Agatha Christie, part Quantum Leap, and totally mind melting. PS, Stuart Turton is a total Quantum Leap geek whereas I'm still pissed at the show's ending.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Agatha Christie, Blackheath House, Blurb, Copy Writer, Geek, Golden Age Mystery, Nick Hornby, No Name, Plague Doctor, Quantum Leap, Spoilers, Stuart Turton, The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, Wilkie Collins

The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton
Published by: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist.

The extraordinary new novel from Stuart Turton, author of the bestselling The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, winner of the Costa Best First Novel Award.

It's 1634 and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Travelling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent.

But no sooner are they out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A twice-dead leper stalks the decks. Strange symbols appear on the sails. Livestock is slaughtered.

And then three passengers are marked for death, including Samuel.

Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes?

With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent can solve a mystery that connects every passenger. A mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board."

After devouring The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle earlier this year Stuart Turton instantly became an author to watch and an author to recommend to anyone willing to listen to me. Hence the publication of his second book is a BIG DEAL in my world!  

The Lives of Saints by Leigh Bardugo
Published by: Imprint
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Enter the world of the Grishaverse and Shadow and Bone, soon to be a Netflix original series!

Dive into the epic world of international bestselling author Leigh Bardugo with this beautifully illustrated replica of The Lives of Saints, the Istorii Sankt’ya, featuring tales of saints drawn from the beloved novels and beyond. Out of the pages of the Shadow and Bone trilogy, from the hands of Alina Starkov to yours, the Istorii Sankt’ya is a magical keepsake from the Grishaverse.

These tales include miracles and martyrdoms from familiar saints like Sankta Lizabeta of the Roses and Sankt Ilya in Chains, to the strange and obscure stories of Sankta Ursula, Sankta Maradi, and the Starless Saint.

This beautiful collection includes stunning full-color illustrations of each story."

Anyone else love how many "in world" books Bardugo has written in her Grishaverse?

The Archive of the Forgotten by A.J. Hackwith
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the second installment of this richly imagined fantasy adventure series, a new threat from within the Library could destroy those who depend upon it the most.

The Library of the Unwritten in Hell was saved from total devastation, but hundreds of potential books were destroyed. Former librarian Claire and Brevity the muse feel the loss of those stories, and are trying to adjust to their new roles within the Arcane Wing and Library, respectively. But when the remains of those books begin to leak a strange ink, Claire realizes that the Library has kept secrets from Hell - and from its own librarians.

Claire and Brevity are immediately at odds in their approach to the ink, and the potential power that it represents has not gone unnoticed. When a representative from the Muses Corps arrives at the Library to advise Brevity, the angel Rami and the erstwhile Hero hunt for answers in other realms. The true nature of the ink could fundamentally alter the afterlife for good or ill, but it entirely depends on who is left to hold the pen."

A slightly more literary Thursday Next.

Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 4416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.

Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Unnamed Arts.” Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back.

When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family. And it’s here that she learns the rules of magic and the lesson that she will carry with her for the rest of her life. Love is the only thing that matters.

Magic Lessons is a celebration of life and love and a showcase of Alice Hoffman’s masterful storytelling."

October is Practical Magic month, so what better way to celebrate than a new book about the Owens women?

A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"After brilliantly reimagining the worlds of Oz, Wonderland, Dickensian London, and the Nutcracker, the New York Times bestselling author of Wicked turns his unconventional genius to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Wild Swans," transforming this classic tale into an Italian-American girl's poignant coming-of-age story, set amid the magic of Christmas in 1960s New York.

Following her brother's death and her mother's emotional breakdown, Laura now lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, in a lonely townhouse she shares with her old-world, strict, often querulous grandparents. But the arrangement may be temporary. The quiet, awkward teenager has been getting into trouble at home and has been expelled from her high school for throwing a record album at a popular girl who bullied her. When Christmas is over and the new year begins, Laura may find herself at boarding school in Montreal.

Nearly unmoored from reality through her panic and submerged grief, Laura is startled when a handsome swan boy with only one wing lands on her roof. Hiding him from her ever-bickering grandparents, Laura tries to build the swan boy a wing so he can fly home. But the task is too difficult to accomplish herself. Little does Laura know that her struggle to find help for her new friend parallels that of her grandparents, who are desperate for a distant relative’s financial aid to save the family store.

As he explores themes of class, isolation, family, and the dangerous yearning to be saved by a power greater than ourselves, Gregory Maguire conjures a haunting, beautiful tale of magical realism that illuminates one young woman’s heartbreak and hope as she begins the inevitable journey to adulthood."

We could all use some magical realism right about now as we enter what looks to be a bleak holiday season. 

Snow by John Banville
Published by: Hanover Square Press
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The incomparable Booker Prize winner's next great crime novel - the story of a family whose secrets resurface when a parish priest is found murdered in their ancestral home.

Detective Inspector St. John Strafford has been summoned to County Wexford to investigate a murder. A parish priest has been found dead in Ballyglass House, the family seat of the aristocratic, secretive Osborne family.

The year is 1957 and the Catholic Church rules Ireland with an iron fist. Strafford - flinty, visibly Protestant and determined to identify the murderer - faces obstruction at every turn, from the heavily accumulating snow to the culture of silence in the tight-knit community he begins to investigate.

As he delves further, he learns the Osbornes are not at all what they seem. And when his own deputy goes missing, Strafford must work to unravel the ever-expanding mystery before the community's secrets, like the snowfall itself, threaten to obliterate everything.

Beautifully crafted, darkly evocative and pulsing with suspense, Snow is "the Irish master" (New Yorker) John Banville at his page-turning best."

1: A Country House. 2: A murder. 3: A snowstorm. 4: A must read.

The Searcher by Tana French
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A spellbinding, propulsive new novel from the bestselling mystery writer who "is in a class by herself." (The New York Times)

Cal Hooper thought a fixer-upper in a bucolic Irish village would be the perfect escape. After twenty-five years in the Chicago police force and a bruising divorce, he just wants to build a new life in a pretty spot with a good pub where nothing much happens. But when a local kid whose brother has gone missing arm-twists him into investigating, Cal uncovers layers of darkness beneath his picturesque retreat, and starts to realize that even small towns shelter dangerous secrets.

"One of the greatest crime novelists writing today" (Vox) weaves a masterful, atmospheric tale of suspense, asking what we sacrifice in our search for truth and justice, and what we risk if we don't."

After "discovering" Tana French earlier this year, and yes, I knew about her books I'd just never read her, she's now a MUST READ! Can not wait for this book!

Still Life by Val McDermid
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover
To Buy

The official patter:
"Val McDermid is the award-winning, international bestselling author of more than thirty novels and has been hailed as Britain’s Queen of Crime. In Still Life, McDermid returns to her propulsive series featuring DCI Karen Pirie, who finds herself investigating the shadowy world of forgery, where things are never what they seem.

When a lobster fisherman discovers a dead body in Scotland’s Firth of Forth, Karen is called into investigate. She quickly discovers that the case will require untangling a complicated web - including a historic disappearance, art forgery, and secret identities - that seems to orbit around a painting copyist who can mimic anyone from Holbein to Hockney. Meanwhile, a traffic crash leads to the discovery of a skeleton in a suburban garage. Needless to say, Karen has her plate full. Meanwhile, the man responsible for the death of the love of her life is being released from prison, reopening old wounds just as she was getting back on her feet.

Tightly plotted and intensely gripping, Still Life is Val McDermid at her best, and new and longtime readers alike will delight in the latest addition to this superior series."

I love Val McDermid, I just think for a Queen of Crime they could have gotten a better book title than the same one Louise Penny used to start off her famous series...

On Borrowed Crume by Kate Young
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover
To Buy

The official patter:
"A shoe-in read for fans of Ellery Adams and Kate Carlisle, On Borrowed Crime is the first in Kate Young's new Georgia-set, sweet tea filled, Jane Doe Book Club mysteries.

The Jane Doe book club enjoys guessing whodunit, but when murder happens in their midst, they discover solving crimes isn't fun and games...

Lyla Moody loves her sleepy little town of Sweet Mountain, Georgia. She likes her job as receptionist for her uncle's private investigative firm, her fellow true crime obsessed Jane Doe members are the friends she's always wanted, and her parents just celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary. But recently, with her best friend Melanie on vacation, and her ex-boyfriend and horrible cousin becoming an item and moving in next door to her, her idyllic life is on the fritz. The cherry on top of it all is finding Carol, a member of the club, dead and shoved into a suitcase, left at Lyla's front door.

Unusual circumstances notwithstanding, with Carol's heart condition, the coroner rules Carol's death undetermined. But when they discover the suitcase belongs to Melanie, who had returned from her vacation the following morning, Sweet Mountain police begin to suspect Lyla's best friend. Determined that police are following the wrong trail, to clear her friend's name, and to not allow Carol become one of the club's studied cold cases, Lyla begins to seek out the real killer. That is, until she becomes the one sought after. Now, finding the truth could turn her into the killer's next plot twist, unless she wins the game of cat and mouse."

OK, yes, I'm all here for the true crime and the book club angle! 

The Sicilian Method by Andrea Camilleri
Published by: Penguin Books
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the new novel in the transporting New York Times bestselling Inspector Montalbano mystery series, Montalbano finds his answers to a murder in a theatrical play.

Mimi Augello is visiting his lover when the woman's husband unexpectedly returns to the apartment; he climbs out the window and into the downstairs apartment, but one danger leads to another. In the dark he sees a body lying on the bed. Shortly after, another body is found, and the victim is Carmelo Catalanotti, a director of bourgeois dramas with a harsh reputation for the acting method he developed for his actors.

Are the two deaths connected? Catalanotti scrupulously kept notes and comments on all the actors he worked with, as well as strange notebooks full of figures and dates and names. Inspector Montalbano finds all of Catalanotti's dossiers and plays, the notes on the characters, and the notes on his last drama, Dangerous Turn - the theater is where he'll find the answer."

I don't just love this series for the mysteries but also for how gorgeous it looks on my bookshelf.

Murder is in the Air by Frances Brody
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover
To Buy

The official patter:
"Frances Brody's twelfth Kate Shackleton mystery will positively intoxicate fans of Jacqueline Winspear and Nicola Upson.

A competition for the crown proves deadly when confidences are betrayed and secrets are spilled.

North Yorkshire, 1930. It's the season for warm and spirited countryside celebrations. Ever since the war, pubs have been in the doldrums, and in an attempt to promote and breathe new life back into the business, brewers select a charismatic employee as local queen - to be the face of their industry. And this year's queen, wages clerk Ruth Parnaby, has invited the ever intrepid Kate Shackleton and her niece Harriet to accompany her on public engagements at a garden party thrown in her honor. But when Ruth leads children to the stables for pony rides, the drayman is missing, later found in the last place imaginable - the fermentation room, deceased.

What looked to be a simple case of asphyxiation in the dangerous fermentation room is quickly clarified by the pathologist as murder - the drayman was already dead before he was taken into the room. Someone was looking to cover it up. The horse dealer who sold the pony to the drayman comes under suspicion, but more and more Ruth's nasty father, Slater Parnaby's strong motive to dissuade his daughter from any festivities lingers in Kate's mind, despite his having an alibi. The case is muddy, at best, and it's going to take Kate at her keenest to decipher the truth."

A sign of a good series, you've hit twelve books and they still feel as fresh as the first! 

The Secrets of Winter by Nicola Upson
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover
To Buy

The official patter:
"A snowy Christmas gathering on an island off the Cornish coast goes murderously wrong in this festive Golden Age mystery.

December 1938, and storm clouds hover once again over Europe. Josephine Tey and Archie Penrose gather with friends for a Cornish Christmas, but two strange and brutal deaths on St. Michael's Mount - and the unexpected arrival of a world famous film star, in need of sanctuary--interrupt the festivities. Cut off by the sea and a relentless blizzard, the hunt for a murderer begins.

Pivoting on a real moment in history, the ninth novel in the Josephine Tey series draws on all the much-loved conventions of the Golden Age Christmas mystery, while giving them the contemporary twist which has come to distinguish the books so far."

And speaking of Nicola Upson... is it wrong I like these more than Tey's own books?

Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Published by: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Introducing Myrtle Hardcastle, your favorite new amateur detective: a wickedly smart twelve-year-old with a keen interest in criminology and a nose for murder.

Twelve-year-old Myrtle Hardcastle has a passion for justice and a Highly Unconventional obsession with criminal science. Armed with her father’s law books and her mum’s microscope, Myrtle studies toxicology, keeps abreast of the latest developments in crime scene analysis, and Observes her neighbors in the quiet village of Swinburne, England.

When her next-door neighbor, a wealthy spinster and eccentric breeder of rare flowers, dies under Mysterious Circumstances, Myrtle seizes her chance. With her unflappable governess, Miss Ada Judson, by her side, Myrtle takes it upon herself to prove Miss Wodehouse was murdered and find the killer, even if nobody else believes her - not even her father, the town prosecutor.

With sparkling wit and a tight, twisty plot, Premeditated Myrtle, the first in a series from an award-winning author, introduces a brilliant young investigator ready to take on hard cases and maddening Victorian rules for Young Ladies of Quality in order to earn her place among the most daring and acclaimed amateur detectives of her time or any other."

Ten year old me is wondering why this book wasn't in my life when I was ten! The first two books are available NOW!

Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Writing as A. Deborah Baker, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Seanan McGuire introduces readers to a world of talking trees and sarcastic owls, of dangerous mermaids and captivating queens in Over the Woodward Wall, an exceptional tale for readers who are young at heart.

If you trust her you’ll never make it home...

Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning, to the way he completes his homework - without complaint, without fuss, without prompt.

Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable.

They live on the same street.
They live in different worlds.

On an unplanned detour from home to school one morning, Avery and Zib find themselves climbing over a stone wall into the Up and Under - an impossible land filled with mystery, adventure and the strangest creatures.

And they must find themselves and each other if they are to also find their way out and back to their own lives."

Again, how does Seanan McGuire have the time!?! She's up to what, four names she's writing under!?!

The Princess in Black and the Giant Problem by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Published by: Candlewick
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 96 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"With a noisy giant crashing around the kingdom, the Princess in Black uses the Sparkle Signal to call ALL her heroic friends together - for the biggest adventure yet.

The Princess in Black is ready for her snowy playdate with the Goat Avenger and the Princess in Blankets. It’s a perfect day to build snow monsters and battle them for practice. But just when they’re about to wage battle, a huge foot smashes their snow monster. “SQUASHY!”

It’s a giant, and it’s smashing everything in its path! The giant is too strong for the three friends, so the Princess in Blankets has an idea: it’s time to light the Sparkle Signal and summon help. With a rising crescendo of a plot and a delightfully surprising ending, the latest adventure in the New York Times best-selling series features all the Princess in Black’s friends as heroes for the first time."

Another delightful entry in this series by a favorite author team!

Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Olivia Dade bursts onto the scene in this delightfully fun romantic comedy set in the world of fanfiction, in which a devoted fan goes on an unexpected date with her celebrity crush, who’s secretly posting fanfiction of his own.

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. The world may know him as Aeneas, star of the biggest show on television, but fanfiction readers call him something else: Book!AeneasWouldNever. Marcus gets out his frustrations with the show through anonymous stories about the internet’s favorite couple, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone discovered his online persona, he’d be finished in Hollywood.

April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s long hidden her fanfic and cosplay hobbies from her “real life” - but not anymore. When she dares to post her latest costume creation on Twitter, her plus-size take goes viral. And when Marcus asks her out to spite her internet critics, truth officially becomes stranger than fanfiction.

On their date, Marcus quickly realizes he wants more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. But when he discovers she’s Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to keep from her.

With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?"

This ticks so many boxes for those hardcore fans who love fanfiction!

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Published by: Grove Press
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"As a child, Natsuki doesn't fit into her family. Her parents favor her sister, and her best friend is a plush toy hedgehog named Piyyut who has explained to her that he has come from the planet Popinpobopia on a special quest to help her save the Earth. Each summer, Natsuki counts down the days until her family drives into the mountains of Nagano to visit her grandparents in their wooden house in the forest, a place that couldn't be more different from her grey commuter town. One summer, her cousin Yuu confides to Natsuki that he is an extraterrestrial and that every night he searches the sky for the spaceship that might take him back to his home planet. Natsuki wonders if she might be an alien too. Back in her city home, Natsuki is scolded or ignored and even preyed upon by a young teacher at her cram school. As she grows up in a hostile, violent world, she consoles herself with memories of her time with Yuu and discovers a surprisingly potent inner power. Natsuki seems forced to fit into a society she deems a "baby factory" but even as a married woman she wonders if there is more to this world than the mundane reality everyone else seems to accept. The answers are out there, and Natsuki has the power to find them.

Dreamlike, sometimes shocking, and always strange and wonderful, Earthlings asks what it means to be happy in a stifling world, and cements Sayaka Murata's status as a master chronicler of the outsider experience and our own uncanny universe."

All the good I could say about this book just comes down to me saying "BUY THIS THERE'S A HEDGEHOG ON THE COVER!!!"

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the vein of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Life After Life, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is New York Times bestselling author V. E. Schwab’s genre-defying tour de force.

A Life No One Will Remember. A Story You Will Never Forget.

France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever - and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets.

Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue, and a dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world.

But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name."

If I could change one thing, and only one thing about this book, it's the "LaRue" part. There's an asshole by that name I know and therefore the name is tainted. 

Lon Chaney Speaks by Pat Dorian
Published by: Pantheon
Publication Date: October 6th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A stunning graphic debut: the life of the legendary silent-film actor Lon Chaney (the original Phantom of the Opera and Hunchback of Notre Dame), as imagined by an artist whose work recalls the style and skill of early-era New Yorker cartoonists.

From the artist: "'No one will ever love me!' I believe it was this near-universal fear that makes Lon Chaney's characters continue to resonate with us today. On their surface, most of them are distinctly unlikeable: they are monsters, outcasts, criminals. But through his unique magic, Chaney makes them empathetic. He pioneered the craft of makeup artist long before that term ever existed, and he used his expertise to hide himself from public view - what if nobody loved him?""

I'm a huge Lon Chaney fan, so obviously I need this book. Likewise if you don't know who Lon Chaney is, you obviously need this book.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A.J. Hackwith, Alice Hoffman, Andrea Camilleri, Frances Brody, Gregory Maguire, John Banville, Leigh Bardugo, Nicola Upson, Seanan McGuire, Shannon Hale, Stuart Turton, Tana French, V.E. Schwab, Val McDermid