Showing posts with label Val McDermid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Val McDermid. Show all posts

Monday, January 12, 2026

Tuesday Tomorrow

Winter by Val McDermid
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 160 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this radiant work of creative nonfiction, internationally beloved novelist Val McDermid delivers a dazzling ode to a lost world, ruminating on a single winter in her life as she journeys into the heart of the season's ever-evolving community-based traditions.

Val McDermid has always had a soft spot for winter: the bitter clarity of a crisp cold day, the crunch of frost on fallen leaves, and the chance to be enveloped in big jumpers and thick socks.

In Winter, McDermid takes us on an adventure through the season, from the frosty streets of Edinburgh to the windblown Scottish coast, from Bonfire Night and Christmas to Burns Night and Up Helly Aa. Recalling in parallel memories from her own childhood - of skating over frozen lakes and carving a "neep" (rutabaga) for Halloween to being taken to see her first real Christmas tree in the town square - McDermid offers a wise and enchanting meditation on winter and its ever-changing, sometimes ephemeral, traditions.

A hygge-filled journey through winter nights, McDermid reminds us that it is a time of rest, retreat and creativity, for scribbling in notebooks and settling in beside the fire. A treat for the hunkering-down, post-holiday reading season, Winter is a charming and cozy celebration of the year's idle months from one of Scotland's best-loved writers."

The perfect book for a cold winter night reading by the fire.

The Briars by Sarah Crouch
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The USA Today bestselling author of Middletide returns with a lush and atmospheric novel of suspense following a young woman whose job as a game warden puts her in the path of a murderer in a small town eager to protect its own.

Desperate to escape a relationship gone bad, Annie Heston flees north to accept a job as a game warden in Lake Lumin, a picturesque town in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

A cougar has been spotted in the area, and as Annie warns the community of the threat, she quickly discovers that not everyone in the tight-knit town is welcoming of outsiders, except for Daniel Barela, a reclusive carpenter who lives in the shadow of the mountain. They form an instant bond, though Annie soon comes to realize there is more to his past than meets the eye.

When the body of a young woman is found in the briars that border Daniel's property, the peace Annie has found in Lake Lumin shatters. As she assists the local sheriff with the investigation, Annie must rely on her wilderness training and intuition to find a murderer hiding in plain sight.

Urgent and emotionally complex, The Briars is a captivating literary thriller that marries an exploration of human nature with a plot as thorny and twisted as the brambles for which it is named."

Even when there are cougars about man is still the deadliest animal. 

Murder Your Darlings by Jenna Blum
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For every woman who's ever fallen for a bad man comes a hilarious and eviscerating tale of love, loss, and deadlines from New York Times bestselling author Jenna Blum.

Known for such brilliant historical novels as Those Who Save Us and The Lost Family, A Mighty Blaze co-founder and New York Times bestselling author Jenna Blum now offers a contemporary, suspenseful novel about love, loss, and revenge in the world of books.

Simone "Sam" Vetiver is a mid-career novelist finishing a lukewarm publicity tour while facing a deadline for a new book on which she's totally blocked. Recently divorced, Sam is worrying where her life is going when she receives glowing fan mail from stratospherically successful author William Corwyn, renowned for his female-centric novels. When William and Sam meet and his literary sympathy is as intense as their chemistry, both writers think they've found The One.

But as in their own novels, things between Sam and William are not what they seem. William has multiple stalkers, including a scarily persistent one named The Rabbit. He lives on a remote Maine island, where his writer life resembles The Shining. And when writers turn up dead, including from The Darlings support group William runs, Sam has to ask: Is it The Rabbit - William's #1 Stalker? Another woman scorned? Can William be everything he seems?

Narrated by Sam, William, and The Rabbit, Murder Your Darlings is a wickedly witty look at today's literary landscape and down-the-rabbit-hole tale of how far people will go for love."

Murdering members of your own writers group on a remote island smacks of stupidity. Or... hubris... 

The Lodge by Paul Finch
Published by: Thomas and Mercer
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 350 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's the perfect getaway. Until there's no way out.

You have been dreaming of an unforgettable weekend escape, and Black Tarn Lodge seems to offer everything - a magnificent Gothic mansion with towering turrets nestled in the misty Lancashire hills.

Expecting elegant dinners, vintage wines and a screening of a legendary lost film in the private cinema, all seems perfect. Until night falls and a thick fog isolates you from the world. Your phones go missing. Guests start vanishing. And then you find the body.

Someone, it seems, fell from the roof. But you can't help wondering if he was pushed. Totally cut off, you cannot leave or call for help. You don't know these people. But you need to decide who you can trust soon. Because someone is going to be next - will it be you?

From Sunday Times bestseller Paul Finch comes a totally addictive thriller that will leave you utterly breathless as you race through the pages. Perfect for fans of Lucy Clarke, Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley."

Just saying, wine bottles make a nice weapon. Though I'm sure in a Gothic mansion there's plenty of weaponry on the walls to choose from.

The Chateau Murder by Greg Mosse
Published by: Hodder and Stoughton
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: eBook, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Wish accidental detective Zoe Pascal bonne chance as she finds herself embroiled in another murder!

Zoe Pascal has settled into her new life in the picturesque village of Sainte-Catherine, running her beloved bookshop with her new companion, Russell the dog.

When an old friend invites Zoe to join her family at Chateau Palotte for the holidays, Zoe heads off into the French countryside to the grand, yet slightly dilapidated, castle.

But there's a frosty atmosphere at the chateau - and when the butler is found dead, Zoe is forced to ask: Was this an accident, or is there a murderer in the grounds?

Soon, Zoe uncovers that everyone staying at the chateau has a motive for murder - can she uncover the truth, before they strike again?"

Well, of course everyone has a motive for murdering the butler. A butler is the one person whom everyone would have had contact with. 

Inside Man by John McMahon
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this sequel to McMahon's electrifying series debut, Head Cases, Gardner Camden and the PAR team return to investigate potentially connected cases.

FBI Agent Gardner Camden is an analytical genius with an affinity for puzzles. He and his squad of brilliant yet quirky agents make up the Patterns and Recognition (PAR) unit, the FBI's hidden edge, brought in for cases that no one else can solve.

PAR's latest case involves a militia group stockpiling weapons. When their confidential informant in the case is killed, it quickly becomes clear that the militia did not kill him.

As the squad looks into the evidence surrounding his murder, an unidentified man is caught on camera with their informant. This mystery man's picture is connected to another case at the FBI, an unsolved series of murdered women, buried in the ground in north Florida. Could they have uncovered a serial killer? And if so, what is his connection to their C.I.?

As PAR juggles an investigation into both the dead women and the militia, they enroll a new informant, only to find the case escalating in dangerous ways. How will PAR handle a case that increasingly looks like a terrorist plot? And in the serial case, with no puzzles or witnesses, and few leads, how will a group set up to decode riddles be successful?"

Maybe the C.I. was a serial killer looking to cover his ass?

Divine Ruin by Margot Douaihy
Published by: Gillian Flynn Books
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the latest in the USA Today bestselling, award-winning, critically acclaimed series, New Orleans punk rock nun-detective Sister Holiday plunges into a "hellish underworld of drug trafficking, addiction, and her own dark past in a journey that is both riveting and sacred." (Ana Reyes, New York Times bestselling author of The House in the Pines)

It's a steamy, restless end of the school year in New Orleans. Sister Holiday is finishing her music classes and preparing for her permanent vow ceremony, a pivotal moment in her journey of faith. But when one of her favorite students is found dead of a fentanyl overdose, Sister Holiday and her partner-in-PI, Magnolia Riveaux, are determined to track down the drug dealers. As students continue to fall prey to this sinister drug, Sister Holiday becomes more desperate to stop the epidemic - while facing her own past with addiction, a demon that is never too far.

With Douaihy's signature mix of grit, heart, and faith, Divine Ruin tests the limits of Sister Holiday's devotion in her darkest and most shocking case yet."

Nuns busting drug dealers!

Pig Wife by Abbey Luck
Published by: Top Shelf Productions
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 540 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Accidentally trapped in an underground bunker, a teen girl must navigate the bizarre secrets within. This astonishing indie-horror graphic novel will keep readers guessing - and turning pages!

Mary had a bad feeling even before they arrived at dead Aunt Pearl's house. Dragged to a remote mining town so her mom and stepdad can settle Pearl's estate, Mary can't wait to escape from her wreck of a family - but she's stuck with them in the middle of nowhere. After a vicious fight, Mary runs off to hide in an abandoned gold mine. Her escape plan backfires when she realizes she's trapped inside. Even more terrifying...she's not alone.

Filled with suspense, dark humor, and spectacular nightmares, Pig Wife is a shockingly ambitious debut from graphic novelist Abbey Luck, seizing readers by the heart and the throat with a story of isolation, abuse, trauma, and survival.

In this truly twisted coming-of-age tale, Luck suggests that survival doesn't depend on our strength and wits alone - but on our ability to love others, even in the most horrific circumstances."

A lesson all should have learned from The Goonies.

Detour by Jeff Rake and Rob Hart
Published by: Random House Worlds
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A space shuttle flight crew discovers that the Earth they've returned to is not the home they left behind in the first book of this emotional, mind-bending thriller series from the creator of the hit Netflix show Manifest and the bestselling author of The Warehouse.

Ryan Crane wasn't looking for trouble - just a cup of coffee. But when this cop spots a gunman emerging from an unmarked van, he leaps into action and unknowingly saves John Ward, a billionaire with presidential aspirations, from an assassination attempt.

As thanks for Ryan's quick thinking, Ward offers him the chance of a lifetime: to join a group of lucky civilians chosen to accompany three veteran astronauts on the first manned mission to Saturn's moon Titan.

A devoted family man, Ryan is reluctant to leave on this two-year expedition, yet with the encouragement of his loving wife - and an exorbitant paycheck guaranteeing lifetime care for their disabled son - he crews up and ventures into a new frontier.

But as the ship is circling Titan, it is rocked by an unexplained series of explosions. The crew works together to get back on course, and they return to Earth as heroes.

When the fanfare dies down, Ryan and his fellow astronauts notice that things are different. Some changes are good, such as lavish upgrades to their homes, but others are more disconcerting. Before the group can connect, mysterious figures start tailing them, and their communications are scrambled.

Separated and suspicious, the crew must uncover the truth and decide how far they're willing to go to return to their normal lives. Just when their space adventure seemingly ends, it shockingly begins."

AKA another in a long long list of why I'd never go to space.

The Last of Earth by Deepa Anappara
Published by: Random House
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the award-winning author of Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line comes a stunning historical novel set in nineteenth-century Tibet that follows two outsiders - an Indian schoolteacher spying for the British Empire and an English "lady" explorer - as they venture into a forbidden kingdom.

1869. Tibet is closed to Europeans, an infuriating obstruction for the rap­idly expanding British Empire. In response, Britain begins training Indians - permitted to cross borders that white men may not - to undertake illicit, dangerous surveying expeditions into Tibet.

Balram is one such surveyor-spy, an Indian schoolteacher who, for several years, has worked for the British, often alongside his dearest friend, Gyan. But Gyan went missing on his last expedition and is rumored to be imprisoned within Tibet. Desperate to rescue his friend, Balram agrees to guide an English captain on a foolhardy mission: After years of paying others to do the exploring, the captain, disguised as a monk, wants to personally chart a river that runs through southern Tibet. Their path will cross fatefully with that of another Westerner in disguise, fifty-year-old Katherine. Denied a fellowship in the all-male Royal Geographical Society in London, she intends to be the first European woman to reach Lhasa.

As Balram and Katherine make their way into Tibet, they will face storms and bandits, snow leopards and soldiers, fevers and frostbite. What's more, they will have to battle their own doubts, ambitions, grief, and pasts in order to survive the treacherous landscape.

A polyphonic novel about the various ways humans try to leave a mark on the world - from the enduring nature of family and friendship to the egomania and obsessions of the colonial enterprise - The Last of Earth confirms Deepa Anappara as one of our greatest and most ambitious storytellers."

Has a slight Black Narcissus vibe.

The Bookbinder's Secret by A.D. Bell
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Every book tells a story. This one tells a secret.

A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder.

Lilian ("Lily") Delaney, apprentice to a master bookbinder in Oxford in 1901, chafes at the confines of her life. She is trapped between the oppressiveness of her father's failing bookshop and still being an apprentice in a man's profession. But when she's given a burned book during a visit to a collector, she finds, hidden beneath the binding, a fifty-year-old letter speaking of love, fortune, and murder.

Lily is pulled into the mystery of the young lovers, a story of forbidden love, and discovers there are more books and more hidden pages telling their story. Lilian becomes obsessed with the story but she is not the only one looking for the remaining books and what began as a diverting intrigue quickly becomes a very dangerous pursuit.

Lily's search leads her from the eccentric booksellers of London to the private libraries of unscrupulous collectors and the dusty archives of society papers, deep into the heart of the mystery. But with sinister forces closing in, willing to do anything for the books, Lilian's world begins to fall apart and she must decide if uncovering the truth is worth the risk to her own life."

If I were to leave a scandalous story after my death I'd totally hide it in books that then get flung to the four corners of the Earth. My story would be a treasure hunt!

Graceless Heart by Isabel Ibañez
Published by: Saturday Books
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 488 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"#1 New York Times bestseller Isabel Ibañez in her adult debut: a gorgeous, historical, and romantic fantasy that will leave readers breathless for more!

She was never meant to be seen. Now she's a weapon the world can't ignore.

As a sculptress, Ravenna Maffei has always shaped beauty from stone but she has a terrible secret. Desperate to save her brother, she enters a competition hosted by Florence's most feared immortal family, revealing a dark power in a city where magic is forbidden.

Now a captive in the cutthroat city of Florence, Ravenna is forced into a dangerous task where failure meets certain death at the hands of Saturnino dei Luni, the immortal family's mesmerizing but merciless heir. But as he draws her closer, Ravenna realizes the true threat lies beyond Florence's walls.

The Pope's war against magic is closing in, and Ravenna is no longer just a prisoner but a prize to be claimed. As trusting the wrong person becomes lethal, Ravenna must survive the treacherous line between a pope's obsession and the seductive immortal who might be the end of her - or surrender her power to a city on the brink of war."

I would totally choose an immortal over the pop any day. 

The Poisoner by I.V. Ophelia
Published by: Simon Maverick
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Lost Apothecary meets Gothikana in a Victorian era Gothic romance about a botanist who likes to poison unsavory men, but when her next target visits her apothecary, they discover their dark bond runs deeper than they imagined.

"Have you ever wondered how long it would take for a lethal dose of arsenic to kill you?
Thirty-five hours, twenty-nine minutes, and fifteen seconds.
I should know. I counted myself."

Amidst the gaslit alleys and cobblestone streets of Victorian London, two killers find themselves entangled in a waltz they cannot escape.

Alina Lis, a botanist and hobbyist poisoner, has a pastime of killing unsavory men in her twisted sense of poetic justice. When she targets the conceited playboy, Silas Forbes, only to find him in her apothecary the following week, she discovers human men are the least of her problems.

The pair's unlikely association sparks gossip among affluent society. As their mysterious bond deepens, a chilling truth emerges - concealed identities, lurking foes, and questions as plentiful as the hydra's head brew within this haunting Gothic tale of violent passion.

Will Silas and Alina find themselves in each other's arms, or will the shadows of their past keep them apart?"

Or will they bring their vengeance down on London?

The East Wind by Alexandria Warwick
Published by: S and S/Saga Press
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rapunzel meets the myth of Psyche and Cupid in a stand-alone fantasy romance tale of love, survival and healing, as a mortal woman and a god unite to overcome deadly trials - and their own tortured pasts - in the climactic final installment of the Four Winds series.

Min of Marles is a skilled apprentice, assisting the town's apothecarist in brewing potions, tonics, and deadly poisons. High in the estate tower where she works, a powerful immortal is kept chained, tortured daily for information. His screams haunt her waking and dreaming hours. A god, she learns. The East Wind, Eurus, who commands the sea-born storms.

A hasty attempt to free him leads to Min's own capture and forced employment to the East Wind as an aide to his grand plans for revenge. In the City of Gods, a tournament is held every thousand years, in which the winner may ask a favor from the esteemed Council of Gods. If Eurus wins, the council must reverse his banishment, the sentence that exiled him and his brothers to the mortal realms. But he requires a deadly poison to ensure that, once the favor is granted, the council will pay for his centuries long exile.

To earn her freedom, Min reluctantly assists in Eurus's plans. As they work together to defeat the deadly trials, she realizes her relationship to the East Wind isn't purely transactional. But if she ever wishes to return home, she must betray the god she loves.

For more stories from the world of the Four Winds, check out The North Wind, The West Wind, and The South Wind."

Is home home or is home the person you love?

The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Shin'ichirō Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta
Published by: University of Minnesota Press
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 120 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The original story that hatched Mothra, one of the most beloved monsters in the "kaijuverse" - available in English for the first time.

Mystical and benevolent, the colossal lepidopteran Mothra has been one of the most beloved kaiju since 1961, when The Luminous Fairies and Mothra was originally published in Japanese. Commissioned by Tōhō Studios from three of Japan's most prominent postwar literary writers (Shin'ichirō Nakamura, Takehiko Fukunaga, and Yoshie Hotta), the novella formed the basis for the now-classic monster film Mothra, with a protagonist second only to Godzilla in number of film appearances by a kaiju. Finally available in its first official English translation, The Luminous Fairies and Mothra will captivate ardent, longtime fans of the films as well as newcomers.

Written just months after the largest political demonstrations Japan had ever seen, The Luminous Fairies and Mothra reflects the rebellious spirit of the time. In this original story, explorers visit a South Pacific island and capture a group of fairies, inciting the fury of the goddess Mothra, who sets out for Japan on a mission of rescue and revenge. Expressing a powerful social stance about Japan's need to chart its own foreign policy during the Cold War, the novella's political message was ultimately toned down in the Tōhō Studios film. Through this translation, Anglophone audiences will discover Mothra as a figure of protest fiction intricately reflecting the complex geopolitical situation in early 1960s Japan.

The Luminous Fairies and Mothra is translated into lively prose by Jeffrey Angles, who also wrote an extensive afterword about the novella's cultural context, the unusual story of its composition, and the development of the 1961 film. Following Angles's best-selling translation of the original Godzilla novellas, this new work will once again delight kaiju fans everywhere."

And release just in time to tide you over until season two of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. 

Starling Nights by Merit Niemeitz
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Kindle, 430 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Secret History meets Twilight in this gripping Dark Academia with a romantasy twist!

Some secrets are written in the stars.

Others hide in the shadows.

There were many myths told about Cambridge. Stories woven from rumour and skewed half-truths, the thin fabric passed from hand to hand in the shadows.

The university kept the true, unfiltered secrets of this place. Only a select few were capable of understanding what it had to tell. People like us. We understood because we were part of it. Because we were the biggest secret of all.


Cambridge student Mabel Golding learned long ago to keep her head down and avoid getting entangled in other people's drama, but when her best friend, Zoe, is drawn into the circle of a mysterious student society with centuries of history, Mabel feels inordinately uneasy. Even more so when she soon finds herself dangerously close to the heart of The League of Starlings, and to its inscrutable leader, Blake..."

ALL about secret societies! 

Into the Midnight Wood by Alexandra McCollum
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A whimsical queer romance about two mismatched roommates whose fragile - and definitely not romantic at all - balance is upended by an impending family wedding and an otherworldly danger in the nearby enchanted wood.

There are at least 100 things wrong with Meredith Schwarzwelder. In fact, keeping track of these things is the only way David Carew has managed to remain living with him for as long as he has. Meredith is an irredeemable eccentric who flirts with everyone in his path (#3 on the list), cries at anything (#35), makes the worst coffee in the world (#70), and talks to mice, or imagines he does (#50).

It's bad enough living with such a person on the edge of the Midnight Wood, but when magic starts to seep from the wood and a dark being emerges with a sinister plan involving Meredith, David decides that it's time to leave the cottage, and his roommate, behind. Then Meredith's brother gets engaged to the daughter of David's boss, and David sees an opportunity: If he can insert himself into the festivities, maybe he can advance his career and get himself out of a personal rut.

With wedding bells sounding and the dangers of the Midnight Wood encroaching, David realizes there's much more hiding beneath the surface of his roommate's seemingly carefree charm, and that perhaps his own exasperation carries more fondness than he'd like to admit.

Cozy, sharp, steamy, and poignant, Into the Midnight Wood is a contemporary queer fairy tale about the masks we wear, the stories we tell, and the powerful need for true, honest connection to heal old wounds and new."

I mean, if you can enough to make a numbered list about the ways someone annoys you, you are already so far gone it isn't even funny. 

A Midnight Pastry Shop Called Hwawoldang by Lee Onhwa
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For readers of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, The Dallergut Dream Department Store, and The Midnight Library, a sweetly magical and uplifting novel about a young woman who inherits an enchanted bakery that spirits visit on their last stop before the afterlife.

Twenty-seven-year-old Yeon-hwa has inherited a neighborhood bakery from her grandmother. Curiously, her grandmother's will spells out two conditions: Yeon-hwa must keep the shop going for at least another month and only open it to customers from 10 PM until midnight. Yeon-hwa is hesitant at first; her grandmother was always distant, raising Yeon-hwa after her parents died in a car accident. But she agrees to the terms, hoping that running the bakery will help her to finally understand her grandmother after all these years.

Yeon-hwa soon learns that the Hwawoldang - the name means "flower moon temple" - is not an ordinary dessert shop. The customers who arrive late at night are spirits, there to attend to unfinished business before being reincarnated. The sweets they crave hold some deep significance in their earthly lives, and they expect Yeon-hwa to meet their requests, as her grandmother did.

With each customer who arrives, Yeon-hwa learns which special desserts live in their memories and will help them on their way. Aided by the shop's resident black cat, Yeon-hwa learns how to find closure for her customers - and begins to unravel her own family's secrets as well."

This is such a feel good type of tale, which is why I would like books like this to stop being compared to The Midnight Library. That is NOT a feel good book. Not. At. All. 

The Lust Crusade by Jo Segura
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A plucky librarian and an archaeologist on the run fake an engagement to save their lives, leading them into the labyrinth of their own desires.

Daniela Guiterrez has been in love with her brother's best friend for as long as she can remember - until he went missing a year ago during an archaeological expedition. But on a solo trip to Greece, the intrepid librarian discovers that Theo is very much alive, although judging by the criminals holding him hostage, he is not doing well.

An expert in Ancient Greek archaeology, Dr. Theo Galanis has been abducted by artifact smugglers in search of a priceless gemstone - the Eye of the Minotaur. This ridiculous assignment was supposed to get Dani out of his system, not keep her tied up next to him. But when a little white lie spirals into his captors believing Theo and Dani are engaged, they must utilize her research skills and his expertise to solve the centuries' old Minoan mystery, all while feigning a romance to keep each other alive.

Now with less than six days to find the jewel, underground societies, mythological beings, and pesky abductors are only half the battle. Because among the ancient ruins and temples they explore is an even bigger danger: falling in love for real."

The third Indiana Jones "homage" by Jo Segura that has me questioning if she will continue with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. The latter of which has a banging title I've thought of for Jo Segura to use...

What Have I Done? My Autobiography by Ben Elton
Published by: Macmillan UK
Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Many people think they know who Ben Elton is - but does he?

For the first - and only - time, Ben tackles this question head on in his frank, forthright and entertaining autobiography. Taking a deep dive into his life and times, both private and public, to reveal the true stories behind iconic hits such as The Young Ones, Blackadder and We Will Rock You, his pioneering routines hosting Saturday Live, which birthed a revolution in stand-up comedy, and so much more. Ben recounts his life and uniquely varied career from his Catford childhood and being the BBC's youngest ever sitcom writer at 21 right up to the present day, with yet another hit sitcom, Upstart Crow; a surprise late-life BAFTA; and his most critically acclaimed stand-up comedy show to date.

Alongside unique insights into his ground-breaking work, Ben talks honestly and hilariously about his personal and professional relationships with two generations of brilliant friends, inspiring contemporaries, occasional foes, and the times in which they all lived. And Ben's life has been just as challenging, rewarding and funny off screen as it has been on. He unpacks it all with wit, insight and complete honesty. And of course, there's a 'little bit of politics.'

After living sixty five years on the planet, forty-five of them in public, tickling many funny bones and getting on a respectable number of wicks, Ben has a lot of stories to tell, and he tells them unvarnished and uncensored - because that's who he is."

I'd buy this just to read about Blackadder, but if he can justify how horrible Maybe Baby was, well then, it's totally worth the price.

Monday, December 1, 2025

Tuesday Tomorrow

Silent Bones by Val McDermid
Published by: Atlantic Crime
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The new installment in the "relentlessly engrossing series" (Wall Street Journal) finds Karen Pirie and her team investigating the murder of a journalist paved under a motorway - but was it his work or his private life that put him there?

Scotland, 2025. When torrential winter rain causes a landslide on a motorway, it dislodges more than mud and asphalt - it reveals a skeleton, concealed when the road was built eleven years prior.

Sam Nimmo, an investigative journalist who'd been poking his nose into the murky politics of the Scottish independence referendum, had become the prime suspect in the brutal murder of his girlfriend when he vanished. Now he's reappeared, buried under the motorway. It's the perfect cold case for DCI Karen Pirie, chief of Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit. What was Nimmo investigating that was worth killing over? Or was it revenge for murdering his girlfriend? Meanwhile, an allegation of murder has surfaced over the supposedly accidental death of a hotel manager. It may have links to another accident on a remote Highland road. It's a series of puzzles that tests Karen and her team to their limits. And possibly beyond...

A darkly propulsive thriller of secrets hidden at the core of a Scottish Highlands town, Silent Bones reaffirms Val McDermid as a crime writer of inimitable power."

I am here for ALL the Karen Pirie I can get! Also, interesting that the journalist's last name was Nimmo...

Kirkyards and Kindness by Kelley Armstrong
Published by: K.L.A Fricke Inc
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Kindle, 155 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Mallory Mitchell and Dr. Duncan Gray take a break from investigating murder to find the most famous dog in Victorian Scotland.

A year ago, twenty-first-century detective Mallory found herself in 1869 Edinburgh, in the body of Catriona Mitchell, a housemaid working for Dr. Duncan Gray, pioneer in forensic science. Shortly after she arrived, she made the unfortunate acquaintence of Catriona's former criminal mentor, Davina, an entanglement that nearly got Mallory killed. Now she's about to meet Davina again.

Greyfriars Bobby has disappeared. The little terrier is already a legend, and Davina has made a tidy living showing him off on graveyard tours...while picking the pockets of her guests. When the elderly dog vanishes, Davina calls in a favor from her old student. Mallory agrees to help find Bobby in return for the one thing she's been unable to get from Davina - the mysterious Catriona's life story.

Note this is not a full-length novel. It's a novella set after Death at a Highland Wedding."

Oh, this is a backstory you don't want to miss!

Dark Humor by Matt Goldman
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Nils Shapiro embarks on an international quest to avenge his wife's murder in this gripping, emotionally charged thriller from New York Times bestselling and Emmy Award-winning author Matt Goldman.

Sammy Sykes is evading the law - and justice.

Nils is on a mission to hunt down Sammy Sykes, the drug kingpin responsible for the ambush that led to his wife's death two years ago. Despite the efforts of local law enforcement and the FBI, Sammy is still on the loose.

It's time for Nils to take the law into his own hands.

A trip to see Sammy's daughter in prison gifts him a lead that's impossible to ignore. Resuming his life as a private investigator, Nils goes deep undercover. Fueled by revenge and a deep sense of justice, Nils' pursuit of Sammy takes him all the way from Minnesota to Europe, where his survival skills - and resolve - are put to the ultimate test...

A page-turning detective novel written in Matt Goldman's unique, sharp style. The long-awaited return of beloved private eye Nils Shapiro is perfect for fans of Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, and Harlan Coben."

I mean, I'd go to any length for vengeance, so it's nice to read about someone who has the same values.

Watch Us Fall by Christina Kovac
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Lucy and her three best friends share a glamorous but decaying house in the heart of Georgetown. They call themselves "the Sweeties" and live an idyllic post-grad lifestyle complete with exciting jobs, dramatic love lives, and, most importantly, each other.

But when Addie, the group's queen bee, discovers that her ex-boyfriend Josh has gone missing, the Sweeties' worlds are turned upside down. In the days leading up to his disappearance, Josh, a star investigative journalist from a prominent political family, was behaving erratically - and Lucy is determined to find out why. All four friends upend their lives to search for him, but detectives begin to suspect that the Sweeties might know more than they're letting on.

As the investigation unfolds, Lucy's obsession with the case reaches a boiling point, and with it, her own troubling secrets begin bubbling to the surface of her carefully curated life. A thrilling account of the lies and delusions that lurk beneath cloistered groups of female friends and the sinister realities of celebrity, Watch Us Fall is a gripping mystery and an examination of the things we tell ourselves when we can't face the truth."

So here for the decaying grandeur and secrets of close-knit friend groups!

Friends and Liars by Kit Frick
Published by: Atria/Emily Bestler Books
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From "edge-of-your-seat suspense" (Booklist) author Kit Frick comes an insidious thriller about four estranged friends trapped in a powerful family's deadly games at a luxe estate in the Italian countryside.

It's been five years since heiress Clare Monroe tragically died on New Year's Eve at her family's opulent Italian palazzo. Since that time, her college friends have harbored a dark secret - their lies and betrayals led to Clare's untimely death.

What happened that fateful night was a horrible accident, but Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David are guilty, nonetheless. And their desperate decision to conceal the truth destroyed their once-close bond.

Now, the estranged friends are each the recipient of an invitation from the Monroes to return to the lakeside palazzo for a long-overdue memorial for Clare. Accepting the Monroes' invitation means playing with fire, but they can hardly refuse.

Luca, Harper, Sirina, and David have barely settled into their idyllic accommodations on Lake Como before someone at the memorial party begins targeting them. Haunted by little "gifts" left in their rooms, taunting notes, and the unshakable sense of being watched, it soon becomes clear that someone on the guest list knows the whole truth about the night Clare died - and the secrets her friends have been keeping. Nothing is as it seems at the palazzo on the lake, and under their tormentor's vengeful gaze, their secrets - and their lives - are in danger."

Feels a bit Ready or Not and I am SO here for that.

Needle Lake by Justine Champine
Published by: The Dial Press
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Two cousins on very different sides of teen girlhood spend a winter together that changes both of their lives forever.

And once, after Elna came to stay, I watched a man drown there on Christmas Eve, his body trapped beneath the ice.

Fourteen-year-old Ida was born with a hole in her heart. Forbidden from most physical activities and considered strange by her teachers and peers, she prefers spending time alone, memorizing countries and capitals on her globe and imagining the world outside the tiny logging town of Mineral, Washington.

One afternoon, in walks her cousin Elna, there to stay for a few weeks. Ida hasn't seen Elna since they were children, and she's immediately drawn to her older cousin, who's everything Ida is not: confident, glamorous, charismatic, and daring. Elna lives in San Francisco, a city Ida has seen only as a dot on her globe. She doesn't treat Ida like she's a fragile kid whose heart might give out at any moment. She isn't scared off by Ida's quirks and fixations. Ida is enraptured.

Then, on Christmas Eve, a man dies out in the woods near Mineral, and the two cousins suddenly share a secret beyond the scope of anything Ida has dealt with before. Fear begins to mix with the reverence Ida feels toward her cousin, especially when she discovers Elna is hiding more than she ever suspected. Brimming with lush prose and careful observation, Needle Lake is an arresting portrait of girlhood and the overwhelming, sometimes dangerous intensity of adolescence."

If it's wrong to be mildly obsessed with corpses trapped beneath ice I don't want to be right. 

The Italian Secret by Tara Moss
Published by: Dutton
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An old family secret leads from the streets of Sydney to Italy's sun-drenched Neapolitan coast, in this immersive historical mystery from #1 international bestselling author Tara Moss.

Pacific Ocean, 1907. A girl embarks on a journey to begin a new life far from home.

Naples, 1943. A woman shelters underground from a wartime air raid, praying her husband will return home.

Sydney, 1948. Billie Walker, returned from a stint as a wartime investigative journalist, uncovers a dusty box in her father's old office whose contents - correspondence with a woman on the other side of the world - just might explain how they all are connected.

Plunged into a perilous search that will take her onto the first postwar luxury passenger ship to sail across the ocean to Italy, Billie finds herself up against a dangerous adversary - someone with a mysterious grudge against her family - as she races to uncover the secrets her father left behind. And as the trail leads her towards two women whose histories may be entwined with her own, she realizes that her father's Italian secret just might upend everything she thought she knew."

Two places I'm obsessed with, Australia and Italy! 

Pearls and Poison by Erin Lindsey
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rose is back and this time she's flying solo as she investigates criminal paranormal activity in Gilded Age New York City.

Murder in Manhattan.


Fully fledged Pinkerton agent Rose Gallagher has just caught her first solo case. Stolen jewels and suspicious deaths in a building on Pearl Street with supernatural markings in the wall are right up her alley. But without her partner, Thomas - whose abrupt departure still hurts her bruised heart - Rose fears she might not be up to the challenge. Especially when the investigation takes a deadly turn...

Attending a high society séance hosted by a psychic of dubious repute should have been nothing more than a great opportunity to gather clues. And yet Rose finds herself being followed, her dear friend is brutally attacked, and her mother's life is threatened. With her loved ones in danger, can Rose stop the killer before their sinister scheme claims another victim?

The fourth installment in Erin Lindsey's Rose Gallagher series, Pearls and Poison is an exciting adventure through Gilded Age New York. Fans of historical mysteries and all things supernatural will love this!"

Séance!!! 

Two Spinsters and a Villain by Eve Tarrington
Published by: Eve Tarrington
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Kindle, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Regency-era opera house sees more than its share of drama when its imposing patron is murdered.

Louisa-Margaretta Haddington, back from Russia, is eager to find a theatre for her future husband's operatic debut. But a visitor from her past, Mr Fortescue, threatens both her marriage and her reputation. It is plain that he cannot stand to see his beloved Miss Haddington marry another. And when he turns up murdered, Louisa-Margaretta must fight for her future and her reputation.

Judith St Clair is in London trying to get help for her own fiance, who has vanished on a diplomatic mission. But when her cousin is accused of Mr Fortescue's murder, Judith must intervene immediately. But the theatrical world is full of secrets, and the actors are both secretive and skilled.

As Louisa-Margaretta and Judith attempt to find the killer, rumors fly in Europe that Napoleon Bonaparte has returned and is raising an army. As all London descends into panic, the two friends must unravel the best-kept secrets of the opera world in order to save both Jasper and themselves.

This Regency cozy historical mystery will transport you to a candlelit opera house and the wild London streets of 1815."

I love me a good Regency tale about the opera. Seriously, any theatrical venue during the Regency is fascinating to me.

Whispers at Painswick Court by Julie Klassen
Published by: Bethany House Publishers
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"She expected her return to Painswick would bring memories of the past - not danger and romance.

Anne Loveday, a surgeon's daughter, is determined to live a single, useful life. To escape her matchmaking stepmother, she accepts an invitation from an old friend to return to Painswick, the place where she and her sister spent many happy summers until that last, fateful year.

Soon after arriving, Anne is asked to serve as sickroom nurse to Lady Celia, who forbade her nephew to marry Anne's sister years before. Pushing aside resentments, Anne moves into Painswick Court, a shadowy old house rumored to be haunted. Also in residence are Lady Celia's spinster daughter, her handsome adult nephews, and a secretive new lady's maid. Two local doctors visit regularly as well, one of whom admires Anne while concealing secrets of his own.

As an escalating series of mishaps befalls her patient, Anne realizes someone is trying to kill the woman. But who? When Anne finds herself a suspect and her resolution to avoid romance challenged, can she discover the real culprit - and protect her heart - before it's too late?

Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen in this compelling Regency-era novel laced with intrigue, love, and English village charm for fans of historical romance and whodunit mysteries."

I would totally be Anne Loveday, though I probably would just be stuck with a patient and death threats and no romance.

Not Exactly Mr. Darcy by Carolyn Miller
Published by: Barbour Fiction
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pride, Pemberley, and Second Chances.

When history-loving Olivia Bennett's teaching contract isn't renewed, she is considered her family's logical choice to care for her ailing grandmother in a tiny English village. While there, she soon finds additional work at nearby Hartbury Hall - one of England's great houses once used as Pemberley in a filmed production of Pride and Prejudice. The head gardener there, however, proves to be anything but the gentlemanly hero of that famous book. Little does she know that behind Liam Browne's brusque exterior is both a family tragedy and a legacy that demands truth and honor, creating a crisis that only Liv's vivacious determination can resolve. Along the way, she may just learn that appearances count for naught...and that love can be found in unexpected ways."

Always keep in mind, no one thought Darcy gentlemanly until the end!

The Last Vampire by Romina Garber
Published by: Wednesday Books
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Pride and Prejudice meets Crave when Austen-loving Lorena Navarro attends a new boarding school expecting to find her own Mr. Darcy, but accidentally awakens the world's last vampire instead!

Pride comes before the fall.

When a boarding school opens in a once-condemned Victorian manor buried in the woods of New Hampshire, Austen-loving Lorena Navarro enrolls in hopes of finding her own Mr. Darcy. Instead, she stumbles across a coffin and accidentally awakens the world's last vampire.

After hibernating for nearly three centuries, William Pride is desperate to find his family - and clueless about the modern world. Relying on Lorena for more than just blood, he enrolls at the school to catch up on all he's missed.

Soon, William uncovers a chilling truth: He is the last hope for his kind's return to power. Torn between protecting the humans around him and fulfilling his fate, William must make a choice that could change everything. Will he sacrifice his species for love...or will he embrace his dark destiny at last?"

It's gotta be sacrifice right? Also, what house inspector missed a coffin!?!

Legend by Karina Halle
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 480 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The scorching conclusion to Hollow, a sexy, dark reimagining of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Welcome back to Sleepy Hollow. Though Katrina Van Tassel, Ichabod Crane, and Brom Bones have begun to pull apart the bone-chilling mystery of the Headless Horseman, their journey is far from its end. As they share the enigmatic halls of Sleepy Hollow Institute, their lives become increasingly entangled. Amidst their exploration of dark desires, Kat grapples with the affections of two possessive men who hunger not just for her, but for each other.

As their passions deepen, unsettling secrets within the school's ancient coven come to light, threatening to unravel the very fabric of their existence. Each must face a profound test, with one harboring a hidden past that could shatter their newfound unity.

In a suspenseful tale of desire, obsession, and the ever-lurking shadows of Sleepy Hollow, these three souls will be pushed to the brink, facing the chilling consequences of their deepest secrets and darkest cravings.

Watch your head."

Gothic power throuple? 

Better in Black by Cassandra Clare
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ten original love stories by the reigning queen of romantasy, featuring fan-favorite couples from her #1 New York Times bestselling Shadowhunter Chronicles - one of the most popular series of all time, with more than 50 million copies in print worldwide!

Ten couples. United by love. Divided by danger.

Jace and Clary, seeking out an exiled Shadowhunter and learning that love can save the world - or destroy it. Will and Tessa, honeymooning in Paris when a séance sends them down an unexpected path. Simon and Izzy, observing increased demonic activity around New York, on a hilarious urban romp.

These are just a few of the beloved couples whose romantic escapades will have you on the edge of your seat across time and storylines from Cassandra Clare's expansive Shadowhunters series. Don't miss a chance to reunite with:

-Anna and Ari
-Emma and Julian
-Kieran, Mark, and Cristina
-James and Cordelia
-Thomas and Alastair
-Sebastian and the Seelie Queen
-Jocelyn and Luke

A love letter to every fan of the Shadowhunter Chronicles, this riveting story collection also includes a sneak peek at The Wicked Powers, the majestic trilogy that will be the grand finale of the entire series!"

Oh, there are more books coming? OK.

Something Wicked by Falon Ballard
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The country of Avon is in deep turmoil...

The Uprising has overthrown Avon's monarchial rulers, and a decree has been issued. Candidates for the first presidential election will be selected by the completion of a special task: to kill the former monarch of their home province.

Callum, the son of the recently dethroned king, is determined to be in the running. But coming to terms with patricide will require the help of Lady Caterine, a Gifted courtesan at La Puissance, Avon's premiere sex club.

Lady Caterine has always had the magical ability to manipulate the emotions of anyone who experiences an orgasm in her presence. If Callum can only open up to Cate, he will be able to commit the newly fated murder without suffering the guilt and take his place as the rightful candidate from his province. But Callum has a deep-seated mistrust of the Gifted. And the last thing he expects is to be confronted with an undeniable connection with Cate that neither of them understands or wants.

With the fate of the country at stake, Callum and Cate search for ways to bare themselves to each other, and discover a darker force building within La Puissance, one that might ruin the future of Avon forever. To stop Avon from falling to ashes, they must sacrifice everything they have...even if it requires betraying each other."

Does her power work if she's just hanging out in a room with an orgy going on?

Tales of Winter and Whimsy by Amanda Aggie, Whitney Dean, Gabbie Dixon, L.R. Friedman, Morgan Gauthier, Kate King, V.B. Lacey , Ophelia Wells Langley, Hillary Raymer, and K.C. Smith
Published by: K.C. Smith
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Kindle, 500 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ten fantasy and romantasy authors. Ten delightfully cozy tales.

This enchanting collection of short stories will have you traveling through snow-covered landscapes, winter solstice balls, small town universities, seaside cottages, and time itself. From a grumpy blacksmith and a chicken cult to a budding romance in the most unlikely of places and everything in between. Each tale offers low stakes, varying spice levels, and whimsical winter worlds that are sure to fill your soul with joy.

So pour yourself a warm brew, wrap up in a cozy blanket, and step into these ten wintery, whimsical tales."

Who doesn't want to whimsy for winter as December starts?

The Curse of the Cole Women by Marielle Thompson
Published by: Alcove Press
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Three generations of women struggle with a curse unfairly placed on their ancestor in this gothic story of magic, queer love, and mother-daughter relationships, perfect for fans of Spells for Forgetting and Practical Magic.

The Cole women are cursed. Each generation will birth a daughter, lose their love, and, as surely as the tide beats against the rocky shore, take her own life by giving herself to the sea. For generations, the Cole women have lived as outcasts, maintaining a lighthouse on a small island off the coast of New Hampshire. Ever since their ancestor was accused of witchcraft and cast into the sea hundreds of years prior, the islanders have ostracized the Coles, distrusting their rumored magic and their control of the lighthouse.

Despite their mistreatment, the Cole women are compelled to remain on the island because they know that if a Cole woman does not light the beacon on Juniper Island, anyone who is out at sea will be drowned. Out of guilt and obligation, the Cole women live out their solitary lives on the island, knowing someday their recompense for protecting the people from the sea will be to die in the sea themselves.

Told in three interwoven timelines in the late twentieth century, The Curse of the Cole Women unravels the lives of three women who struggle with their relationships with each other as they contend with the reality of their fates - is it truly a curse, or is it generational madness that drives Cole women to the sea?

Readers will be swept into this evocative and moving story about challenging misogyny, finding community, and struggling with fate."

The sea is a harsh mistress. 

Canticle by Janet Rich Edwards
Published by: Spiegel and Grau
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A masterful debut novel following a spirited young woman's explorations of faith, agency, and love in thirteenth-century Bruges.

Aleys is sixteen years old and unusual: stubborn, bright, and prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, Finn, a young scholar, have been learning Latin together in secret - but just as she thinks their connection might become something more, everything unravels. When her father promises her in marriage to a merchant she doesn't love, she runs away from home, finding shelter among the beguines, a fiercely independent community of religious women who refuse to answer to the Church.

Among these hardworking and strong-willed women, Aleys glimpses for the first time the joys of belonging: a life of song, meaning, and friendship in the markets and along the canals of Bruges. But forces both mystical and political are at work. Illegal translations of scripture, the women's independence, and a sudden rash of miracles all draw the attention of an ambitious bishop - and bring Aleys and those around her into ever-increasing danger, a danger that will push Aleys to a new understanding of love and sacrifice.

Grounded in the little-told stories of medieval women - mystics, saints, anchoresses, and beguines - and introducing a major new talent, Canticle is a luminous work of historical fiction, vividly evoking a world on the verge of transformation."

If I were in Bruges in the thirteenth century I'd be with Aleys.

Out of Time by Jodi Taylor
Published by: Headline
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Hardcover, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The nail-bitingly tense, rib-crackingly funny new Time Police mission from the million-copy bestselling author of The Chronicles of St Mary's.

The Time Police are accustomed to jumping to the past. This time, however, the past has come to them.

What connects a dead dinosaur with Romulus the founder of Rome, a shocking cover-up at TPHQ and a plot to murder the Princes in the Tower?

The Time Police are determined to find out, helped - and occasionally hindered - by a wayward member of St Mary's and a recently reunited Team 236. Each in their own unique way, obviously.

As if all that wasn't enough - something somewhere in the Timeline is wrong. Very, very wrong. What is the Time Map trying to tell them?

Can the Time Police find the answers before Time runs out?"

Dinosaurs and Rome? Yes please!

A Grim Reaper's Guide to Cheating Death by Maxie Dara
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When a determined killer targets her brother, a grim reaper risks everything to save him in this delightful cozy mystery.

Nora Bird works for S.C.Y.T.H.E., which might seem odd for someone as terrified of death as she is. But ever since her parents died in an accident when she was six, she's been obsessed with avoiding risk, and what better place to learn how to cheat death than the company that employs the nation's grim reapers?

The work enables Nora to learn all about the myriad ways you can kick the bucket, which is comforting...until one day, a file crosses her desk with a name she recognizes. Her twin brother's.

The twins haven't spoken in six months, but Charlie is all Nora has left. Completely against her cautious nature, Nora steals the file and flees, racing to her brother's house. She begs him to trust her that his death is imminent, and they hit the road (with his parrot, Jessica, who has plenty to say) in an attempt to evade both death and S.C.Y.T.H.E., whose sole mission of collecting souls has been disrupted by Charlie's continued existence.

Alas, every time Nora saves him, a new cause of death appears in his file. Someone is determined to take Charlie out, and Nora will have to use everything she's ever learned about death to discover the culprit."

I mean, working S.C.Y.T.H.E. has to have some added benefit right? Like saving your nearest and dearest...

Snake-Eater by T. Kingfisher
Published by: 47north
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 271 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author T. Kingfisher comes an enthralling contemporary fantasy seeped in horror about a woman trying to escape her past by moving to the remote US desert - only to find herself beholden to the wrath of a vengeful god.

With only a few dollars to her name and her beloved dog Copper by her side, Selena flees her past in the city to claim her late aunt's house in the desert town of Quartz Creek. The scorpions and spiders are better than what she left behind.

Because in Quartz Creek, there's a strange beauty to everything, from the landscape to new friends, and more blue sky than Selena's ever seen. But something lurks beneath the surface. Like the desert gods and spirits lingering outside Selena's house at night, keeping watch. Mostly benevolent, says her neighbor Grandma Billy. That doesn't ease the prickly sense that one of them watches too closely and wants something from Selena she can't begin to imagine. And when Selena's search for answers leads her to journal entries that her aunt left behind, she discovers a sinister truth about her new home: It's the haunting grounds of an ancient god known simply as "Snake-Eater," who her late aunt made a promise to that remains unfulfilled.

Snake-Eater has taken a liking to Selena, an obsession of sorts that turns sinister. And now that Selena is the new owner of his home, he's hell-bent on collecting everything he's owed."

Is T. Kingfisher secretly entering a competition against Seanan McGuire for who can write the most books in a year? Personally, I think the more they both write makes us all winners.

Secrets of the First School by T.L. Huchu
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: December 2nd, 2025
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One final adventure for Ropa Moyo - orphan, mischief-maker and failed magician. Secrets of the First School is the mystery-filled finale to T. L. Huchu's USA Today bestselling Edinburgh Nights series.

"I've had my arse kicked more times than I can count"

Ropa Moyo is dead, banished to the Other Place by the reanimated spirit of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville of Scotland. Turns out being on the losing side sucks worse than being skint.

Now, the Cult of Dundas intends to ascend to godhood, spreading their corrupting reach from Edinburgh to all of Scotland's schools of magic. Ropa must find some way to escape the Other Place, save her sister and gather allies across the country before Edinburgh falls.

A royal plot, a family secret and a stolen body. As Scotland descends into petty in-fighting, Ropa's only hope lies in her grandmother's final secret: the first school of magic.

An ancient power is returning...and is hungry for revenge."

Say it isn't so!?! Not THE LAST!?! 

Monday, September 23, 2024

Tuesday Tomorrow

Death by Misadventure by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the latest installment of Tasha Alexander's New York Times bestselling series, Lady Emily must solve a string of high stakes "accidents" while trapped in a lavish villa in the Bavarian Alps.

In the winter of 1906, Lady Emily and husband Colin are invited to the opulent home of Baroness Ursula von Duchtel in the Bavarian alps. Outside is a mountainous winter wonderland with a view of Mad King Ludwig's fairy tale castle. Inside, the villa hosts a magnificent but eclectic art collection - as well as an equally eclectic collection of fellow guests, among them a musician, an art dealer, a coquette from the demi-monde, and Kaspar, the Baroness' boorish son-in-law, whom, it begins to appear, someone wants dead. Almost forty years earlier, Niels, a young German lord, sings to himself in the forest surrounding those same alps, capturing the attention of a not-yet-mad King Ludwig. Niels and the king become fast friends, their relationship deepening into something more as their time together stretches on. But while King Ludwig is content to live out a fantasy where their responsibilities don't matter and the outside world doesn't affect them, Niels knows that their bliss cannot last forever...

Decades later, Emily continues to investigate Kaspar's increasingly lethal "mishaps" when tragedy strikes, ensnaring the guests in a web of fear and suspicion. It's up to Emily to sift through old secrets and motivations, some stretching far into the past, to unmask the killer."

You all know I worship and adore Tasha and Lady Emily, but this one has something very special, something very Agatha Christie about it. You will devour it just like I did.

Murder at King's Crossing by Andrea Penrose
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When the murder of a scientific genius on the verge of a momentous discovery upsets the wedding of their dear friends, Wrexford and Charlotte must risk all they hold dear to deconstruct a sinister conspiracy in the latest installment of Andrea Penrose's USA Today bestselling Wrexford and Sloane Mysteries.

Celebration is in the air at Wrexford and Charlotte's country estate as they host the nuptials of their friends, Christopher Sheffield and Lady Cordelia Mansfield. But on the afternoon of the wedding, the festivities are interrupted when the local authorities arrive with news that a murdered man has been discovered at the bridge over King's Crossing, his only identification an invitation to the wedding. Lady Cordelia is horrified when the victim is identified as Jasper Milton, her childhood friend and a brilliant engineer who is rumored to have discovered a revolutionary technological innovation in bridge design. That he had the invitation meant for her cousin Oliver, who never showed up for the wedding, stirs a number of unsettling questions.

Both men were involved in the Revolutions-Per-Minute Society, a scientific group dedicated to making radical improvements in the speed and cost of transportation throughout Britain. Is someone plotting to steal Milton's designs? And why has her cousin disappeared?

Wrexford and Charlotte were looking forward to spending a peaceful interlude in the country, but when Lady Cordelia resolves to solve the mystery, they offer their help, along with that of the Weasels and their unconventional inner circle of friends. The investigation turns tangled and soon all of them are caught up in a treacherous web of greed, ambition, and dangerous secrets. And when the trail takes a shocking turn, Wrexford and Charlotte must decide what risks they are willing to take with their family to bring the villains to justice..."

Seriously, this week is made for those who love their Historical Murder Mysteries. In fact, just take the week off, you'll need it to read all these fabulous books.

The Case of the Purloined Pages by Patricia Rice
Published by: Book View Cafe Publishing Cooperative
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 312 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Death stalks the library...

Bestselling author Patricia Rice brings you another haunting country house mystery in Regency England...

Minerva Peniston, intrepid spinster and booklover, is determined to capture the villain who tried to shoot a duke at a book auction - imperiling her father's position and the only home she's ever known. And now the same wealthy bibliophiles are gathering at Wycliffe Manor...

Paul Upton, over-educated and impoverished curate, has volunteered to assist the residents of Wycliffe Manor in preparing for a book auction to save the village and the manor's future. When an intriguing wallflower drags him into aiding her quest to find a potential killer, he agrees for her safety, and to keep trouble from upending the long-awaited nuptials of the manor's owner.

Despite their efforts, Minerva's chatty book-collecting friend is strangled before the auction begins. A killer on the loose threatens to upend both sale and wedding. Paul and Minerva must determine what secrets the garrulous victim revealed...and to whom...before the murderer strikes again.

With valuable manuscripts at risk and a half dozen more potential victims on hand, only an unlikely white-knight and mousy spinster can save the auction and the wedding. As much as Minerva adores books, even she knows they aren't worth dying for."

Wait, books aren't worth dying for? Um, I disagree, save the books let the people perish!

Murder in Berkeley Square by Vanessa Riley
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Embracing the true diversity of the Regency era, award-winning author Vanessa Riley brings readers a vibrant historical mystery starring an engaging heroine with an independent streak, a notorious past, and a decided talent for sleuthing in Murder in Berkley Square the latest novel in her Lady Worthing Mystery series.

A marriage of convenience saved Lady Abigail Worthing's family from disgrace, but she's finding her absent husband's endless conditions increasingly repressive. Unable to stay at their London home during the oncoming winter, she accepts a ride to the country from her neighbor, Stapleton Henderson. However, she's less than delighted that she's his excuse to avoid a dinner held by Lord Charles Duncan, one of London's most powerful - and relentless - magistrates. More irritating, women are decidedly unwelcome at the evening's prestigious discussion of criminality - even though Abigail and Stapleton have solved several cases together...

Then an unexpected blizzard strands them at Lord Duncan's with his now-houseguests. Suddenly, an evening of fine dining, fine brandy, and insightful debate becomes an inescapable - and deadly - ordeal. The ultimate test for Abigial's skill. One of the dinner guests is found dead in front of the Berkley Square mansion. And when another party is murdered, Abigail discovers each had received a taunting, prophetic nursery rhyme...coincidence, or clues left by a killer on the loose?

Through deft interrogation, she learns everyone present is connected to Lord Duncan's greatest failure in the courts: the conviction of a Martinique plantation informant for a murder he didn't commit. But as Abigail races to find who was really responsible for the miscarriage of justice, she'll be forced to put her own and Stapleton's lives at risk in a gambit that will alter their fates forever - or end them permanently."

I love love love it when blizzards trap people with killers. Especially in lush English homes.

A Cure for Sorrow by Jen Wheeler
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 431 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the author of The Light on Farallon Island comes a haunting novel about the power of science, the nature of love, and the enigma of the supernatural.

Convention-flouting Nora Harris is a determined young medical student in Gilded Age Manhattan. A surgeon's daughter, she always leads with her head - until her father's latest protégé, Euan Colquhoun, steals her heart. Love and logic bind the newly betrothed couple together, but a tragic accident cuts their bright future short.

Grief-stricken, Nora finds surprising comfort in corresponding with Euan's older brother, Malcolm. She decides to forsake her ambitions to retreat to the Colquhoun family farm deep in the tangled woods of upstate New York.

There, her longed-for peace is threatened by a suspicion that the whole family harbors haunting secrets. When she starts to see things that science can't explain, Nora fears for her sanity - and when she gives in to dangerous temptations, she fears for her immortal soul."

A country estate with things that "science can't explain" I need to know more!

The Cold Light of Day by Anna Lee Huber
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Remarkable heroine Verity Kent must follow the leads of a dangerous investigation that will pull her into a conspiracy spilling dangerously out onto the streets of Interwar Dublin, Ireland in the next installment of this highly acclaimed series.

June 1920, Ireland: The streets of Dublin seethe with revolution as the Irish Republican Army clashes with British authorities. Roving assassination squads mean nowhere is truly safe, particularly for Verity Kent and her war hero husband, Sidney. Given their celebrity as society darlings and intrepid sleuths, they must tread carefully to go unnoticed - nearly impossible when they are called upon to search for Verity's fellow spy and friend...

Captain Alec Xavier has seemingly vanished after traveling to Dublin to infiltrate the IRA at its highest levels. Doing her best to maintain a modicum of normalcy and stay under the radar of both the rebels and British Intelligence, Verity works undercover by day and waltzes through the city's elite social scene by night. Still, she fears the worst for Alec - until shocking evidence mounts that not only is he alive, but that he has switched sides...

Already disillusioned with the British government, the news leaves Verity and Sidney reeling. Worse, they learn of a conspiracy within Dublin Castle, where personal vendettas are being carried out and sanctioned by British Intelligence under the cover of revolution. With the distinction between friend and foe never more blurred - or the margin for error narrower - Verity and Sidney cannot turn a blind eye. Especially when a familiar adversary appears, bringing a threat almost too terrifying to confront - even in the cold light of day..."

It's always important to hold those nearest you accountable.

A Front-Page Murder by Fiona Veitch Smith
Published by: Embla Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"London, 1920. Starry-eyed aspiring reporter Poppy Denby emerges from the steam of the Edinburgh-London train onto the platform at King's Cross with nothing but a trunk of old notebooks and a heart full of dreams. She swaps her quiet northern hometown for the Big Smoke to act as companion for her ailing (but ever-sharp) Aunt Dot, a pioneering Suffragette and former West End leading lady.

She may only be twenty-two, but Miss Denby knows what she wants and quickly lands a job at the Daily Globe. She expects she's going to have to pull up her stockings and work twice as hard as her male colleagues, but what she is not ready to deal with is murder.

It's only Poppy's first day on Fleet Street when one of the Globe's senior reporters falls to his death from the highest staircase - just moments after receiving a mysterious note. Poppy is tasked with finishing his article involving the mysterious death of a suffragette seven years earlier, about which some powerful people would prefer nothing to be said. Did old Bert Isaacs get too close to a scoop?

As Poppy investigates, she is thrown into a world of hard-drinking newspapermen, flappers and jazz clubs, and learns she must tread very carefully indeed. Luckily, she has her new-found friendship with the terribly dashing Globe photographer Daniel Rokeby who seems terribly eager to lend a helping hand..."

The real mystery here is isn't her job supposed to be companion not working at the Daily Globe?

Murder on the Nile by Verity Bright
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 298 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A cruise down the Nile, a camel ride around the pyramids, lunch in the shadow of the Sphinx...And a very dead body!

1924. Lady Eleanor Swift and her butler Clifford are touring the great, ancient sights of Egypt on a much-anticipated extended vacation. But when the pair arrive at the docks in Cairo expecting to board the luxurious paddle steamer advertised in their brochure, they are baffled by the crumbling old cruiser waiting for them. And things only go from bad to worse as death stalks the decks of the SS Cleopatra...

Two days into the trip one of their fellow passengers, Lieutenant Baxter, is found shot dead in his locked cabin. Immediately suspicious and desperate to see justice done, Eleanor discovers a half-finished note addressed to her hidden in Baxter's travelling trunk. In it he asks her to deliver a vitally important letter to the authorities at their next stop down river: a priceless treasure worthy of a king has been stolen and an innocent man's life hangs in the balance.

But before the sands of time wipe away all evidence on board, Eleanor must uncover who among the other travellers wanted Baxter dead. Was it the anxious archaeologist who doesn't have an alibi, the reptile expert with a passion for the murderous Nile crocodile or the art dealer with a devious secret?

With the killer readying to strike again much closer to home, can Eleanor dig up the truth before she's trapped in a tomb under the pyramids forever?

A gripping and twisty 1920s murder mystery set in Egypt, perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Lee Strauss!"

And fans of Elizabeth Peters. Obviously.

A Deadly Discovery by Ciar Byrne
Published by: Headline Accent
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Kindle, 350 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Book 1 in a gripping new bookish cosy crime series - perfect for fans of The Three Dahlias, The Mitford Murders and golden age crime.

In the shadow of Lewes castle lies buried an ancient tablet. Hours after discovering it, dashing local archaeologist Gideon Rivers is dead.

Writer Virginia Woolf and her artist sister, Vanessa, both know firsthand that it doesn't take much to cause a stir in town. And when Gideon returned home from a dig in Syria with a glamourous Parisian heiress on his arm, all eyes were on him.

But who would have conspired to murder such a charming young man? There are more suspects in his circle than it first seems: an ambitious fiancée, a jealous best friend, and a string of scorned former lovers.

With the police chasing false leads and the murderer hunting down a second victim  - one far closer to home - Ginny and Nessa are forced to take investigations into their own hands.

Solving this mystery calls for a little creativity..."

The Stephen sisters are on the case! Damn how I love writers becoming sleuths! 

Seven Lively Suspects by Katy Watson
Published by: Mobius
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"It's been five years since Dahlia fan Scott Baker was arrested for a murder that had eerie echoes of one of Lettice Davenport's books. But now a true crime podcast is convinced that the police got it wrong - and they want the three Dahlias to help them prove it.

The murder of aspiring crime writer Victoria Denby created a sensation at the time. The public's imagination was hooked by the detail of a paper dahlia placed beside the body, just like in one of Dahlia Lively's fictional cases. Was there a copycat killer at large in the peaceful town of Market Foxleigh?

Despite the tabloids' fearmongering, the police quickly arrested Victoria's friend and fellow writer, Scott Baker, and when it emerged that he had also been accused of stalking Dahlia actress Caro Hooper, it seemed like an open and shut case.

Five years on most people have forgotten the case. But this baking hot summer, a crime writing festival is being staged in Market Foxleigh - and the guests of honor are the Three Dahlias themselves - Rosalind, Caro and Posy. At the same time, a true crime podcast wants to reopen the cold case, convinced that the police got the wrong man... and they're determined to enlist the help of the Three Dahlias to help prove them right - and find the real killer."

And speaking of The Three Dahlias...

Tiny Threads by Lilliam Rivera
Published by: Del Rey Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fashion-obsessed Samara finally has the life she's always dreamed of: A high-powered job with legendary designer Antonio Mota. A new home in sunny California, far away from those drab Jersey winters. And an intriguing love interest, Brandon, a wealthy investor in Mota's fashion line.

But it's not long before Samara's dream life begins to turn into a living nightmare as Mota's big fashion show approaches and the pressure on her turns crushing. Perhaps that's why she begins hearing voices in her room at night - and seeing strange things that can't be explained away by stress or anxiety or the number of drinks she's been consuming.

And it may not be just Samara imagining things as her psyche unravels, because she soon discovers hints that her new city - and the House of Mota - may be built on a foundation of secrets and lies. Now Samara must uncover what hideous truths lurk in the shadows of this illusory world of glamour and beauty before those shadows claim her."

I love the dark underbelly of fashion. So many people rarely get it right though.

The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco by Michelle Chouinard
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In Michelle Chouinard's clever mystery The Serial Killer Guide to San Francisco, the granddaughter of a serial killer shows readers another side of the beloved city.

Welcome to San Francisco, a city with killer charm.

The chill of a San Francisco summer can be deadly. No one knows this better than Capri Sanzio, who makes her living giving serial killer tours of the city. Capri has been interested in the topic since she was a kid, when she discovered she's the granddaughter of serial killer William 'Overkill Bill' Sanzio. She's always believed in his innocence, though she's never taken the leap to fully dive into the case.

But now an Overkill Bill copycat has struck in San Francisco. And Capri's former mother-in-law, Sylvia, just cut off Capri's daughter's tuition payments. Needing cash, Capri wonders if this is the time to exonerate her grandfather. The case is back in the news and the police will be looking to understand the past to catch a present-day killer. Capri could finally uncover the truth about Overkill Bill - documenting the process with a podcast and a book - and hopefully earn some money.

Before Capri can get very far, the cops discover the copycat's latest victim: Sylvia. Capri soon finds herself at the heart of the police's investigation for an entirely different reason. She and her daughter are prime suspects."

I'm just saying, wouldn't debunking your grandfather when you do serial killer tours kind of put a dent in your business?

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Knives Out gets a holiday rom-com twist in this rivals-to-lovers romance-mystery from New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter.

The bridge is out. The phones are down. And the most famous mystery writer in the world just disappeared out of a locked room two days before Christmas.

Meet Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt:

She's the new Queen of the Cozy Mystery.

He's Mr. Big-time Thriller Guy.

She hates his guts.

He thinks her name is Marcie (no matter how many times she's told him otherwise.)

But when they both accept a cryptic invitation to attend a Christmas house party at the English estate of a reclusive fan, neither is expecting their host to be the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley, the Duchess of Death herself.

That night, the weather turns, and the next morning Eleanor is gone.

She vanished from a locked room, and Maggie has to wonder: Is Eleanor in danger? Or is it all some kind of test? Is Ethan the competition? Or is he the only person in that snowbound mansion she can trust?

As the snow gets deeper and the stakes get higher, every clue will bring Maggie and Ethan closer to the truth - and each other. Because, this Christmas, these two rivals are going to have to become allies (and maybe more) if they have any hope of saving Eleanor.

Assuming they don't kill each other first."

Me, oh I can't wait to add the new Ally Carter to my bookshelf! Me, oh dear lord, that cover is horrible, I think I can just get a digital copy...

A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Published by: Avon Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone who gave us A Merry Little Meet Cute comes a new holiday rom-com - 'tis the season for second chances!

What happens when there's no room at the inn and you and your potentially demonic cat become roommates with your grumpy one-night stand?

Part-time adult film actress/one-time adult film director/makeup artist Sunny Palmer has accidentally sold her very first screenplay to the Hope Channel. That was six months ago. Fast forward to a looming deadline, an uninspired Sunny has returned to the source of her inspiration in Christmas Notch, Vermont, to immerse herself in the local Christmas miracle on which her fever dream of a movie pitch was based.

Isaac Kelly, former boy band heartthrob and the saddest boy in the music biz, is the latest owner of the town's historic mansion. After his years of heartbreak following his young wife's death, Isaac's record label is done waiting for new music. What better place to attempt his first holiday album than a snow-covered mansion where he can become a hermit in peace?

But after their best friends' wedding leads to them waking up together in a freezing motel room with questionable wiring and a broken shower, Isaac takes a chance and asks Sunny to stay with him at his home. Surely the place is big enough that he'll hardly see her or her unhinged cat. But when the two discover they're both creatively blocked, they make a handshake deal: Isaac will help Sunny hunt down the truth behind the local lore, and Sunny will find Isaac a new muse.

And with these two opposites under one roof, there's no way this jingle bell mingle could go off script...right?"

I really wonder how the PR people at the "Hope" Channel will spin Sunny's past...

Hex and Hexability by Kate Johnson
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Bridgerton meets The Ex Hex this witchy season with this oh so spicy romantasy Regency romcom!

'Do you want to see what witches can do?'

Lady Tiffany Worthington has always had a special talent for making the world around her come to life - whether she wants it to or not - but it's only with the arrival of her mysterious great aunt Esme on the eve of the Battle of Waterloo that she learns she's a witch...and that the magic she's long feared is actually a gift to be embraced.

Now, as she's exposed to a side of London she never knew existed, one with sea creatures, magical portals, time travel, and a handsome duke from a faraway land with a dashing scar that makes him look like a pirate, Lady Tiffany discovers that despite what the ton might decree, there is no limit to what she can do...or who she can be."

REGENCY MAGIC! MUPPET ARM FLAIL!

Queen Macbeath by Val McDermid
Published by: Atlantic Monthly Press
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Shakespeare created the myth of the Macbeths as indefensible murderous conspirators. But now internationally bestselling author Val McDermid drags the truth out of the shadows, exposing the patriarchal prejudices of history.

Britain's reigning "Queen of Crime" (The Scotsman), Val McDermid has ensnared audiences worldwide for over thirty years with her thrilling and masterfully plotted crime oeuvre. A radical, rip-roaring counternarrative drawing on the historical record, Queen Macbeth delivers an illuminating portrait of Shakespeare's most famous villain, and the treacherous pursuit of ambition that made her legendary.

A thousand years ago in an ancient Scottish landscape, a woman is on the run with her three companions - a healer, a weaver, and a seer. The men hunting her will kill her - because she is the only one who stands between them and their violent ambition. She is no lady: she is the first queen of Scotland, married to a king called Macbeth. As the net closes in, what unfurls is a tale of passion, forced marriage, bloody massacre, and the harsh realities of medieval Scotland. At the heart of it is one strong, charismatic woman, who survived loss and jeopardy to outwit the endless plotting of a string of ruthless and power-hungry men. Her struggle won her a country. But now it could cost her life.

Immersive and utterly riveting, Queen Macbeth is an electric reimagining of one of Shakespeare's most celebrated tragedies and reaffirms McDermid as one of the preeminent writers of our day."

Because I know, like me, you've always wondered about the truth of Lady Macbeth...

This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska
Published by: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Spirit away with a whimsical fantasy filled with dark magic and flirty, polyamorous romance.

Cursed to haunt the river running through the magical spa town where she drowned, Gisela is a water nymph who dreams of returning to the living world and the family she left behind. All it takes to regain her humanity is a kiss from a mortal...but everyone sees her as a monster.

And then there's Kazik, the brooding, interfering, spirit-hunting grandson of a local witch. He's determined to rid the world of unholy creatures like Gisela. After Kazik botches Gisela's exorcism, she strikes up a deal. She won't tell the other spirits that he's losing his magic, if he agrees to play matchmaker and helps her get a kiss. But Gisela's plan goes awry when Kazik also falls for the devilishly handsome young man that she sets her heart on - someone who could be linked to Gisela's troubled past.

Finely crafted with a magical setting, this delectable quest through the spirit world is an enchanting read for fairy tale enthusiasts and YA fans of queer romantasy."

And come on, look at that lush cover! I want to live in it.

Necrology by Meg Ripley
Published by: Creature Publishing, LLC
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paerback, 380 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""It's amazing what the spirit can cope with to preserve the body. My spirit is a mighty oak that just won't fall."

In a fantastical aftermath of the Salem witch trials, magical women known as the Dirty have signed a contract swearing off their innate magic in exchange for freedom from violence by non-magical Freemen. Two hundred years later, in a Catskills orphanage, headmistress Whitetail has sprouted antlers - proof of a violated contract. When her wealthy benefactor visits, proposing marriage, her appearance sparks abuse. Rushing to her teacher's defense, eight-year-old Rabbit curses the Beard dead, and Whitetail's arrested on trumped-up charges.

As Whitetail awaits her trial and execution, Rabbit is groomed as the Freemen's star witness and learns of the terrifying reality to which they aspire. With her magic at stake and a loose tooth in her mouth, Rabbit has little left to lose. And a revolution to gain."

The real question, how much magic can she wield with that tooth?

What We Sacrifice for Magic by Andrea Jo DeWerd
Published by: Alcove Press
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Perfect for fans of Practical Magic and The Lager Queen of Minnesota a coming-of-age novel following three generations of witches in the 1960s, this enchanting and heartwarming debut explores the importance of family and the delight and heartbreak of discovering who you truly are.

It's 1968, and the Watry-Ridder family is feared and respected in equal measure. The local farmers seek out their water charms, and the teenagers, their love spells. The family's charms and spells, passed down through generations of witches descending from the Black Forest, have long served the small town of Friedrich, Minnesota.

Eldest daughter Elisabeth has just graduated high school - she is expected to hone her supernatural abilities to take over for her grandmother, the indomitable Magda. She's also expected to marry her high school sweetheart and live the rest of her life in Friedrich. But all she can ask is, why her? Why is her path set in stone, and what else might be out there for her?

She soon discovers that magic isn't the only thing inherited in her family. That magic also comes with a great price - and a big family secret. The more she digs, the more questions she has, and the less she trusts the grandmother she thought she knew. Who is Elisabeth without her family? She must ultimately decide what she's willing to sacrifice for her family, for their secrets and their magic, or risk it all to pave her own way.

Navigating the bittersweet tension between self-discovery and living up to familial expectations, What We Sacrifice for Magic is a touching look at coming into one's own."

And also, who constitutes our chosen family...

The Naming Song by Jedediah Berry
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A gorgeously imaginative fantasy in the spirit of Hayao Miyazaki and Guillermo del Toro.

There's nothing more dangerous than an unnamed thing.

When the words went away, the world changed.

All meaning was lost, and every border fell. Monsters slipped from dreams to haunt the waking while ghosts wandered the land in futile reveries. Only with the rise of the committees of the named - Maps, Ghosts, Dreams, and Names - could the people stand against the terrors of the nameless wilds. They built borders around their world and within their minds, shackled ghosts and hunted monsters, and went to war against the unknown.

For one unnamed courier of the Names Committee, the task of delivering new words preserves her place in a world that fears her. But after a series of monstrous attacks on the named, she is forced to flee her committee and seek her long-lost sister. Accompanied by a patchwork ghost, a fretful monster, and a nameless animal who prowls the shadows, her search for the truth of her past opens the door to a revolutionary future - for the words she carries will reshape the world.

The Naming Song is a book of deep secrets and marvelous discoveries, strange adventures and dangerous truths. It's the story of a world locked in a battle over meaning. Most of all, it's the perfect fantasy for anyone who's ever dreamed of a stranger, freer, more magical world."

The power of names, of language, is the greatest power of all.

Space Oddity by Catherynne M. Valente
Published by: S and s/Saga Press
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Return to the greatest contest in the galaxy in the sequel to the hilarious USA Today bestseller Space Opera from New York Times bestselling author and finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Ursula K. Le Guin awards.

The Metagalactic Grand Prix - part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past returns and the fate of the Earth is once again threatened. The civilizations opposed to humanity have been plotting and want to take down the upstarts. Can humanity rise again in this sequel to the beloved Hugo- Award-nominated national bestselling Space Opera by New York Times bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente?"

The most important thing about this sequel is that Cat named it after a David Bowie song.

Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman
Published by: Ace Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess Donut, as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs to make it to the next level and build the kind of fan following the dungeon masters can't ignore in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman - now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition.

"Greetings, Crawlers! The training levels have concluded. Now the games may truly begin."

The aliens have come, and they've transformed Earth into a multilevel, video game-like dungeon. It's the newest season of the galaxy's most watched game show, Dungeon Crawler World. Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever feline royalty are an almost unstoppable team. Their ratings are off the charts. Viewers can't get enough. But the dungeon gets more dangerous each day, and now there's a whole new problem to deal with: Quests.

They call it the Over City. A sprawling, once-thriving metropolis devastated by a mysterious calamity. But these streets are far from abandoned. An undead circus trawls the ruins. Murdered women rain from the sky. An ancient spell is finally ready to reveal its dark purpose. Can Carl and Donut solve the mystery in time?

And can Carl finally find some pants?

Includes part two of the exclusive bonus story "Backstage at the Pineapple Cabaret.""

OMG, I can't handle that the twist is Quests! I just can't. So epic.

Shikaree by M.J. Oelkers
Published by: Arnstead Press
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 3404 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The eldest child of four, Chandra Pattal has no shortage of work on her plate.

Her time under the sun is stretched between working the family orchards, selling produce in the markets of Arnstead, and caring for her siblings in place of her dearly departed mother. Looming over Chandra's hectic life is her father's debt to the Orland Bank. The family stands one poor harvest from a life in the streets, and interest rates only ever seem to climb.

To balance her family's precarious situation, Chandra moonlights as a Shikaree. A treasure hunter who delves into the dark places of the World Below. Ancient bits and baubles call to Chandra with promises of comfort and stability. Small offerings to throw atop the debt that crushes her family.

When Chandra finds a map to greater riches, she bets her life on one great expedition to secure her family's future. A journey through darkness and horror that guarantees danger. The World Below teems with ravenous varmints eager to prey on lone adventurers. Otherworldly terrors conceal themselves in crevices and around corners. Perhaps the most terrifying threats of all are the fellow Shikaree who would kill to stake their claim.

Shikaree is a dark fantasy tale of trust and determination, where Chandra Pattal risks all that she has to find what she truly desires. Just how far will Chandra go to protect her family from an uncaring world?"

When an orchard isn't enough you risk it all.

Sweetest Darkness by Leslie Lutz
Published by: Holiday House
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A teenage psychic is drawn deep into the honeycomb of an abandoned hotel - and into a cat-and-mouse game with a predatory entity - in this riveting new supernatural horror novel.

Everyone in Gypsum, Texas knows the Hotel Alvarado changes at night - especially Quinn. A teenage clairvoyant, he's been having dreams about it... dreams that call him to its dark, abandoned halls. The hotel is a monument to the town's more prosperous past, when celebrities flocked to the mineral spas and films were shot in the desert. The Great Depression killed all of that, it killed the Alvarado, and frankly it killed Gypsum, too. Now, when the sun goes down, things no longer living stir deep within its creaking depths.

But the dreams are relentless. When Quinn braves the hotel's darkness with his best friend June and unrequited love Selena, looking for answers, he gets only one: ghosts aren't the scariest thing lurking inside the Alvarado (although they're there, cold and restless and angry).

No. He's been called by something worse: a predatory, inhuman entity that threatens to wipe Gypsum off the map, along with everyone in it. And wrongly - accidentally - he's let it out. It takes the shape of a handsome young man. It walks. It talks. It laughs. It can even make you laugh. But its appetite for death can never be sated. Quinn has always had the power to see the future... can he find the power to change it?"

People who are psychic should never go into old hotels. Period.

Devils Kill Devils by Johnny Compton
Published by: Tor Nightfire
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Devils Kill Devils is perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Certain Dark Things and Southern Gothic horror. Johnny Compton brings his trademark terror and dread that readers fell in love with in The Spite House to a new roster of monsters - angels, devils, vampires - and a heart-pounding race to save the world.

When all hell breaks loose, you need a devil on your side.

Sarita has been watched over by a guardian angel her entire life. She calls him Angelo, and keeps him a secret. But secrets can't stay buried forever...

When Angelo murders someone she loves, Sarita begins to see what's really been lurking in the shadows surrounding her. And she will have to embrace the evil within if she hopes to make it out alive.

Johnny Compton, critically acclaimed author of The Spite House and master of dread, takes you on a terrifying race of one woman against the hordes of hell."

I LOVE Southern Gothic Horror!

Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
Published by: Flatiron Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The author of sales sensation If We Were Villains returns with a story about a ragtag group of night shift workers who meet in the local cemetery to unearth the secrets lurking in an open grave.

Every night, in the college's ancient cemetery, five people cross paths as they work the late shift: a bartender, a rideshare driver, a hotel receptionist, the steward of the derelict church that looms over them, and the editor-in-chief of the college paper, always in search of a story.

One dark October evening in the defunct churchyard, they find a hole that wasn't there before. A fresh, open grave where no grave should be. But who dug it, and for whom?

Before they go their separate ways, the gravedigger returns. As they trail him through the night, they realize he may be the key to a string of strange happenings around town that have made headlines for the last few weeks - and that they may be closer to the mystery than they thought.

Atmospheric and eerie, with the ensemble cast her fans love and a delightfully familiar academic backdrop, Graveyard Shift is a modern Gothic tale in If We Were Villains author M. L. Rio's inimitable style."

Is it wrong I kind of want to hang out with this gang?

The Darkest Night edited by Lindy Ryan
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From some of the biggest names in horror comes an Advent calendar of short holiday horror stories perfect for the darkest nights of the year.

Edited by award-winning author and anthologist Lindy Ryan and with contributions from masters of horror like Josh Malerman, Eric LaRocca, and Clay McLeod Chapman, this horrific anthology will chill you to the bone.

From New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box, Josh Malerman, comes a story of a dark Christmas past in "Children Aren't the Only Ones Who Know Where the Presents Are Hidden."

From national bestselling author Rachel Harrison, in "Thaw," a couple spends their first Christmas together in a cabin - but are they alone, or does something else watch them from the tree line?

New York Times bestselling authors Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon's "Wintry Blue" sets an innocent child on the road with a strange and monstrous creature.

From the Bram Stoker Award-winning screenwriter of Netflix's Haunting of Bly Manor and The Fall of the House of Usher, in Jamie Flanagan's "Bruiser," something sinister stalks the chilling hallways of a nursing home at night.

Author of Such a Pretty Smile, Kristi DeMeester, tells a tale of "Eggnog" a Christmas party, an overfriendly female coworker, and an angry wife are the recipe for a deadly cocktail party.

Plus stories by Nat Cassidy, Darcy Coates, Clay McLeod Chapman, Tim Waggoner, and many more, with an introduction by George C. Romero and art by renowned British horror artist Mister Sam Shearon."

I mean, I was sold at Christopher Golden, but Jamie Flanagan!?! Hell yes!

The Hitchcock Hotel by Stephanie Wrobel
Published by: Berkley Books
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A Hitchcock fanatic with an agenda invites old friends for a weekend stay at his secluded themed hotel in this fiendishly clever, suspenseful new novel from the international bestselling author of Darling Rose Gold.

Alfred Smettle is not your average Hitchcock fan. He is the founder, owner, and manager of The Hitchcock Hotel, a sprawling Victorian house in the White Mountains dedicated to the Master of Suspense. There, Alfred offers his guests round-the-clock film screenings, movie props and memorabilia in every room, plus an aviary with fifty crows.

To celebrate the hotel's first anniversary, he invites his former best friends from his college Film Club for a reunion. He hasn't spoken to any of them in sixteen years, not after what happened.

But who better than them to appreciate Alfred's creation? And to help him finish it.

After all, no Hitchcock set is complete without a body."

As a devotee of Hitchcock, we share the same birthday afterall, this is a must read. And oddly, maybe, I think I need to recreate the experience too...

The Midnight Club by Margot Harrison
Published by: Graydon House
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A twisty, nostalgic, emotionally thrilling novel about a group of estranged college friends who experiment with a secret substance that allows them to re-live their memories - and the fallout when they uncover startling truths about a dark event from their past.

"How could you leave the past undisturbed when it was hiding parts of you from yourself?"


It's been twenty-five years since The Midnight Club last convened. A tight-knit group of college friends bonded by late nights at the campus literary magazine, they're also bonded by something darker: the death of their brilliant friend Jennet junior year. But now, decades later, a mysterious invitation has pulled them back to the pine-shrouded Vermont town where it all began.

As the estranged friends gather for a weeklong campus reunion, they soon learn that their host has an ulterior motive: she wants them to uncover the truth about the night Jennet died, and she's provided them with an extraordinary method - a secret substance that helps them not only remember but relive the past.

But each one of the friends has something to hide. And the more they question each other, the deeper they dive into their own memories, the more they understand that nothing they thought they knew about their college years, and that fateful night, is true.

The Midnight Club explores that innate desire to revisit our first loves, our biggest mistakes, and the gulf between who we are and who we hoped we'd be."

I mean... Couldn't the book have picked a less well known title? Unless they named themselves after the Christopher Pike book, then that's fine. Confusing but fine.

Dying Inside by Pete Wentz
Published by: Headshell
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Paperback, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Scott Pilgrim and Wednesday combine into a teenaged Fleabag in Dying Inside, a supernatural, emo-fantasy thriller from the minds of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, Hannah Klein, and Lisa Sterle!

Immortality is entirely overrated.

From Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz, Hannah Klein (Everything's Fine), and Lisa Sterle (The Modern Witch Tarot, Witchblood) comes the graphic novel about a chronically depressed girl who's tired of fighting for her...death.

Today is Ash's big finale. And by finale, of course, she means exiting the stage permanently.

Ash is a sixteen-year-old girl with more angst than Ian Curtis and Elliott Smith combined (her two idols). She's apathetic and therefore believes death is the easiest route to relief. But nothing is more embarrassing than a lame death. Unfortunately, her meticulous plans - which include the perfect outfit, soundtrack, and method - are all ruined when the beautiful knife she buys off a webstore turns out to be charmed with a protection spell. Now, Ash has to track down the witch who turned her clocking out attempt into the worst gift imaginable: immortality. Turns out, the witch responsible is another sixteen-year-old-girl named (get this) Liv. The two vow to undo the charm together and fight for Ash's death... even as things get increasingly entangled with a strange new antidepressant called Somnia and her mom's gross boyfriend, Greg.

Dying Inside is a musically immersive experience, featuring QR codes that lead the reader to:
-original lyrics and poetry from Pete Wentz
-an integrated playlist from Pete Wentz and Hannah Klein
-never-before-heard music from Daisy Grenade
-and more!

For fans of: It's Lonely at the Centre of the Earth (Zoe Thorogood), Squad (Maggie Tokuda-Hall and Lisa Sterle), Light as a Feather (Zoe Aarsen), Book of Shadows (M. Verano), The Secret Circle (L.J. Smith), Heart-Shaped Box (Joe Hill), the Shadow and Bone Trilogy (Leigh Bardugo), Vicious (V.E. Schwab), Bunny (Mona Awad), The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (graphic novels, prose novels), the Practical Magic series (Alice Hoffman), Anya's Ghost (Vera Brosgol), the series Charmed, and the films The Craft, Booksmart, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Easy A, and Jennifer's Body."

Easy there, no need to draw so many correlations! I was sold from the preview from Free Comic Book Day.

The Mythmakers by John Hendrix
Published by: Abrams Fanfare
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions - C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien - following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks.

Through narrative and comic panels, Hendrix chronicles Lewis and Tolkien's near-idyllic childhoods, then moves on to both men's horrific tour of the trenches of World War I to their first meeting at Oxford in 1929, and then the foreshadowing, action, and aftermath of World War II. He reveals the shared story of their friendship, in all its ups and downs, that gave them confidence to venture beyond academic concerns (fantasy wasn't considered suitable for adult reading, but the domain of children), shaped major story/theme ideas, and shifted their ideas about the potential of mythology and faith.

The Mythmakers also shows the camaraderie and the importance of the social/literary circle of friends called the Inklings, and how the friendship of these two great men fell apart and came together again. Hendrix concludes describing how the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had re-enchanted the 20th century, after two World Wars. In writing aimed at scholars, adults, and young people, these two tweedy academics altered the course of storytelling and embraced the concept that fantasy writing for an adult audience was an accepted form of literature.

The format is similar to The Faithful Spy: prose interspersed with images and narrative comics. The narration is often conversations between a knowledgeable wizard and a comical lion. Through brisk conversation between these two friends, they explain some of the bigger ideas in an approachable and entertaining way. Throughout the story, there are "gateways" that lead readers to the back matter where certain themes, such as how myth/fantasy evolved or the art of world-building, are discussed more fully. This device keeps the main story flowing quickly and smoothly for those readers not interested in the more academic ideas behind the narrative. Among the ideas covered in the narrative and back matter:
- Tolkien's world-building
- The "Theology of Creation" linking their faith to their writings
- The meaning of real friendship
- Notions of modernity and mythology
- The value of fantasy
- The power of a creative community
- An exploration of the different kinds of storytelling in Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, both relying on "the Myth" as a storytelling device, but differing in the use of allegory vs. symbolism
- The creative differences of Lewis and Tolkien: the high standards of Tolkien's fiction and the faster and more immediate approach of Lewis's
- Logos vs. Mythos: Lewis created from images, Tolkien created from language
- The mixing of mythologies

Also included are an author's note, endnotes, bibliography and index."

That's a LOT for 224 pages to deliver...

The Best Mystery Stories of the Year edited by Anthony Horowitz
Published by: Mysterious Press
Publication Date: September 24th, 2024
Format: Hardcover, 512 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From a pool of over 3,000 considered stories published last year - anything that touched on crime, mystery, and suspense, from venues as disparate as The Strand Magazine, Dark Yonder, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, The Bellevue Literary Review, and more - these are the very best, selected by series editor Otto Penzler and guest editor Anthony Horowitz.

The tales included cover a range of styles, highlighting the diversity of subjects and forms comprising the genre we call mystery fiction. Featuring a mixture of household names, masters of the short form, and newcomers to the field, the collection offers a variety that promises something for every reader. And it's all capped off by a vintage story from the first half of the previous century, sourced directly from the rare book room at the Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest mystery fiction specialty store in the world.

Authors include:
-Ace Atkins
-Michael Bracken
-Fleur Bradley
-Shelley Costa
-Doug Crandell
-Jeffery Deaver
-John Floyd
-Nils Gilbertson
-Peter Hayes
-Shells Legoullon
-Victor Methos
-Leonardo Padura
-Dan Pope
-Annie Reed
-Cameron Sanders
-Anna Scotti
-Archer Sullivan
-Andrew Welsh-Huggins
-Stacy Woodson"

I wonder if Otto gave like Anthony a long list that he had to shorten or does Anthony read that much?

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