strange and random happenstance

The Elizas by Sara Shepard
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author of Pretty Little Liars Sara Shepard makes her mark on adult fiction with this Hitchcockian double narrative composed of lies, false memories, and a protagonist who must uncover the truth for survival.

When debut novelist Eliza Fontaine is found at the bottom of a hotel pool, her family at first assumes that it’s just another failed suicide attempt. But Eliza swears she was pushed, and her rescuer is the only witness.

Desperate to find out who attacked her, Eliza takes it upon herself to investigate. But as the publication date for her novel draws closer, Eliza finds more questions than answers. Like why are her editor, agent, and family mixing up events from her novel with events from her life? Her novel is completely fictional, isn’t it?

The deeper Eliza goes into her investigation while struggling with memory loss, the closer her life starts to resemble her novel, until the line between reality and fiction starts to blur and she can no longer tell where her protagonist’s life ends and hers begins.

Fans of Pretty Little Liars, S.J. Watson’s Before I Go to Sleep, and Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10 will be drawn to the drama of feeling like no one is on your side, the high tension of not knowing who you can trust, the hair-raising truths hidden among lies, and a faceless, nameless presence controlling Eliza’s life from the shadows."

I'm all about this book, it's named after me, Miss Eliza right? 

The She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Ellie Mack was the perfect daughter. She was fifteen, the youngest of three. She was beloved by her parents, friends, and teachers. She and her boyfriend made a teenaged golden couple. She was days away from an idyllic post-exams summer vacation, with her whole life ahead of her.

And then she was gone.

Now, her mother Laurel Mack is trying to put her life back together. It’s been ten years since her daughter disappeared, seven years since her marriage ended, and only months since the last clue in Ellie’s case was unearthed. So when she meets an unexpectedly charming man in a café, no one is more surprised than Laurel at how quickly their flirtation develops into something deeper. Before she knows it, she’s meeting Floyd’s daughters—and his youngest, Poppy, takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because looking at Poppy is like looking at Ellie. And now, the unanswered questions she’s tried so hard to put to rest begin to haunt Laurel anew. Where did Ellie go? Did she really run away from home, as the police have long suspected, or was there a more sinister reason for her disappearance? Who is Floyd, really? And why does his daughter remind Laurel so viscerally of her own missing girl?"

I want to know why her new beau's daughter reminds her of her own!

In Prior's Wood by G.M. Malliet
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Agatha Award-winning author G. M. Malliet has charmed mystery lovers and cozy fans with her critically acclaimed mysteries. In Prior's Wood, featuring handsome spy-turned-cleric Max Tudor, won’t disappoint.

Newly returned from investigating a murder in Monkslip-super-Mare, handsome Max Tudor wants nothing more than to settle back into his predictable routine as vicar of St. Edwold’s Church in the village of Nether Monkslip. But the flow of his sermon on Bathsheba is interrupted when the lady of the local manor house is found in a suicide pact with her young lover.

Lady Duxter’s husband rallies quickly from the double tragedy―too quickly, it is murmured in the village. Lord Duxter already has offered his manor house to a motley crew of writers, including Max’s wife Awena, for his writers’ retreat, and he insists the show must go on.

When a young girl goes missing and a crime writer becomes a target, DCI Cotton asks Max to lend his MI5 expertise to the investigation.

Many suspects emerge as the scope of the investigation widens beyond the writers to villagers who had crossed swords with the insufferably smug crime author. But Max begins to wonder: was the attack on the writer only part of a broader conspiracy of silence?"

English country cozy death!

The Mechanical Devil by Kate Ellis
Published by: Piatkus
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When archaeologist Neil Watson unearths a long-buried mechanical figure in a Dartmoor field, he is determined to discover the truth behind the bizarre find.

Soon, however, the sleepy village becomes the focus of press attention for another reason when two people with no apparent connection to each other are found shot dead in nearby Manor Field, seemingly victims of an execution-style double murder.

DI Wesley Peterson is called in to investigate, but the two murders aren't his only problem. The daughter of a local MP has gone missing and the pressure is on to find her, especially when it's revealed that she has a connection to one of the murder victims. And Wesley's own life is thrown into turmoil when a woman he helped on a previous investigation finds herself subjected to a campaign of terror...

Is there a link between the double murder and the accidental death of a young history student in Manor Field twenty years ago? And just what is the true identity of the Mechanical Devil?"

So many interconnections, but I really want to know about the mechanical figure! 

Shot in the Dark by Cleo Coyle
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new smartphone dating game turns the Village Blend into a hookup hot spot, until one dark night, when a gunshot leaves a dead body behind and the landmark coffeehouse becomes the center of a whole new scene--a crime scene.

As Village Blend manager Clare Cosi attempts to finalize a date for her wedding, her ex-husband becomes addicted to making dates through smartphone swipes. Clare has mixed feelings about these quickie matchups happening in her coffeehouse. Even her octogenarian employer is selecting suitors by screenshot! But business is booming, and Clare works hard to keep the espresso shots flowing. Then one dark night, another kind of shot leaves a dead body for her to find.

The corpse is a successful entrepreneur who became notorious for his "hit it and quit it" behavior: prowling for women on dating apps, then devastating his conquests with morning-after insults. Though the NYPD quickly arrests one of his recent victims, Clare finds reason to believe she's been framed.

Now, with the help of her ex and crew of quirky baristas, Clare starts "swiping" through suspects in her own shop, determined to find the real killer before another shot rings out.

Includes a bang-up menu of tempting recipes."

A new brew for you!

Noir by Christopher Moore
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The absurdly outrageous, sarcastically satiric, and always entertaining New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore returns in finest madcap form with this zany noir set on the mean streets of post-World War II San Francisco, and featuring a diverse cast of characters, including a hapless bartender; his Chinese sidekick; a doll with sharp angles and dangerous curves; a tight-lipped Air Force general; a wisecracking waif; Petey, a black mamba; and many more.

San Francisco. Summer, 1947. A dame walks into a saloon...

It’s not every afternoon that an enigmatic, comely blonde named Stilton (like the cheese) walks into the scruffy gin joint where Sammy "Two Toes" Tiffin tends bar. It’s love at first sight, but before Sammy can make his move, an Air Force general named Remy arrives with some urgent business. ’Cause when you need something done, Sammy is the guy to go to; he’s got the connections on the street.

Meanwhile, a suspicious flying object has been spotted up the Pacific coast in Washington State near Mount Rainer, followed by a mysterious plane crash in a distant patch of desert in New Mexico that goes by the name Roswell. But the real weirdness is happening on the streets of the City by the Bay.

When one of Sammy’s schemes goes south and the Cheese mysteriously vanishes, Sammy is forced to contend with his own dark secrets—and more than a few strange goings on—if he wants to find his girl.

Think Raymond Chandler meets Damon Runyon with more than a dash of Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes All Stars. It’s all very, very Noir. It’s all very, very Christopher Moore."

Hell, I'd be interested just for the San Francisco angle, Moore is just MORE!

Coyotes by Sean Lewis
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Women are going missing in the City of Lost Girls, a border town in the desert. Officer Frank Coffey is trying to get to the bottom of this when he meets Red, a thirteen girl with a katana blade and a mission: murder the Werewolves stalking the border picking women off one by one. When it's discovered that the Wolves are the men of these villages, both Red and Officer Coffey are thrown together in a thriller of mythic proportions with he lives of their friends and loved ones in the balance."

Oh, I hope my local library gets this! Yes, I have a rule, I'm not allowed to buy graphic novels until I read them first. 

The Case of the Perilous Palace by Jordan Stratford
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The history-mystery-science series concludes as the Wollstonecraft Detectives - Ada Byron Lovelace and Mary Shelley - take on a case by royal request.

Ada's imperious grandmother has absolutely shut the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency down--until they get a case from a princess, that is.

The princess Alexandrina Victoria, age 9 (who will grow up to be Queeen Victoria), is the most closely watched girl in England. She is never alone. Every morsel she eats is catalogued. Every visitor overseen. Every move noted down. She has but one thing of her own--a sketchbook she uses as a secret diary, where she records her private thoughts in code. But now, somehow, that sketchbook has disappeared.

And so the princess enlists Ada and Mary to figure out what has happened to the sketchbook without arousing the suspicions of her minders. A most clandestine case indeed! One that will involve breaking into Kensington Palace and uncovering a host of surprising royal secrets...

This funny, Christmas-time romp of a caper will delight history and mystery fans alike."

What's this "last" BS!?!

Before Mars by Emma Newman
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Hugo Award winner Emma Newman returns to the captivating Planetfall universe with a dark tale of a woman stationed on Mars who starts to have doubts about everything around her.

After months of travel, Anna Kubrin finally arrives on Mars for her new job as a geologist and de facto artist in residence--and already she feels she is losing the connection with her husband and baby at home on Earth.

In her room on the base, Anna finds a mysterious note, painted in her own hand, warning her not to trust the colony psychiatrist. A note she can't remember painting.

When she finds a footprint in a place that the colony AI claims has never been visited by humans, Anna begins to suspect that she is caught up in an elaborate corporate conspiracy. Or is she losing her grip on reality? Anna must find the truth, regardless of what horrors she might discover or what they might do to her mind."

Mars, it's the new thing that all books should have in them!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Christopher Moore, Cleo Coyle, Coyotes, Emma Newman, G.M. Malliet, In Prior's Wood, Kate Ellis, Lisa Jewell, Sara Shepard, The Elizas, The Mechanical Devil, Then She Was Gone, Wollstonecraft Detective Agency

The Mistress of Paris by Catherine Hewit
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: January 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Mistress of Paris, a fantastically readable biography of a nineteenth-century Parisian courtesan who harbored an incredible secret.

Comtesse Valtesse de la Bigne was painted by Édouard Manet and inspired Émile Zola, who immortalized her in his scandalous novel Nana. Her rumored affairs with Napoleon III and the future King Edward VII kept gossip columns full.

But her glamorous existence hid a dark secret: she was no comtesse. She was born into abject poverty, raised on a squalid backstreet among the dregs of Parisian society. Yet she transformed herself into an enchantress who possessed a small fortune, three mansions, fabulous carriages, and art the envy of connoisseurs across Europe. A consummate show-woman, she ensured that her life―and even her death―remained shrouded in just enough mystery to keep her audience hungry for more.

Spectacularly evoking the sights and sounds of mid- to late nineteenth-century Paris in all its hedonistic glory, Catherine Hewitt’s biography tells, for the first time ever in English, the forgotten story of a remarkable woman who, though her roots were lowly, never stopped aiming high."

This does seem "fantastically readable!"

No Man's Land by Simon Tolkien
Published by: Nan A. Talese
Publication Date: January 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 592 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspired by the real-life experiences of his grandfather, J. R. R. Tolkien, during World War I, Simon Tolkien delivers a perfectly rendered novel rife with class tension, period detail, and stirring action, ranging from the sharply divided society of northern England to the trenches of the Somme.

Adam Raine is a boy cursed by misfortune. His impoverished childhood in turn-of-the-century London comes to a sudden and tragic end when his mother is killed in a workers' protest march. His father, Daniel, is barely able to cope with the loss. But a job offer in the coal mining town of Scarsdale presents one last chance, so father and son head north. The relocation is hard on Adam: the local boys prove difficult to befriend, and he never quite fits in. Meanwhile tensions between the miners and their employer, Sir John Scarsdale, escalate, and finally explode with terrible consequences.

In the aftermath, Adam's fate shifts once again, and he finds himself drawn into the opulent Scarsdale family home where he makes an enemy of Sir John's son, Brice, who subjects Adam to a succession of petty cruelties for daring to step above his station. However, Adam finds consolation in the company of Miriam, the local parson's beautiful daughter with whom he falls in love. When they become engaged and Adam wins a scholarship to Oxford, he starts to feel that his life is finally coming together—until the outbreak of war threatens to tear everything apart.

From the slums of London to the riches of an Edwardian country house; from the hot, dark seams of a Yorkshire coal mine to the exposed terrors of the trenches in France; Adam's journey from boy to man is set against the backdrop of a society violently entering the modern world."

One Tolkien writing about another set during WWI? Yes please!

The White Cottage Mystery by Margery Allingham
Published by: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
Publication Date: January 24th, 2017
Format: Paperback, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Classic Crime from the Golden Age. Margery Allingham is J.K. Rowling's favorite Golden Age author.

Eric Crowther collected secrets and used them as weapons. Delighting in nothing more than torturing those around him with what he knew, there is no shortage of suspects when he is found dead in the White Cottage. Chief Inspector Challenor and his son Jerry will have to look deep into everyone's past--including the victim's--before they can be sure who has pulled the trigger. The fact that Jerry is in love with one of the suspects, however, might complicate things.

The White Cottage Mystery was Margery Allingham's first detective story, originally written as a serial for the Daily Express in 1927 and published as a book a year later. This new Bloomsbury edition is the only US edition currently in print."

When I read this book I absolutely loved it. Of course that was only a kindle edition and I've been needing a physical copy and I think this just might be the thing! 

The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: January 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beloved author Brunonia Barry returns to the world of The Lace Reader with this spellbinding new thriller, a complex brew of suspense, seduction and murder.

When a teenage boy dies suspiciously on Halloween night, Salem's chief of police, John Rafferty, now married to gifted lace reader Towner Whitney, wonders if there is a connection between his death and Salem’s most notorious cold case, a triple homicide dubbed "The Goddess Murders," in which three young women, all descended from accused Salem witches, were slashed on Halloween night in 1989. He finds unexpected help in Callie Cahill, the daughter of one of the victims newly returned to town. Neither believes that the main suspect, Rose Whelan, respected local historian, is guilty of murder or witchcraft.

But exonerating Rose might mean crossing paths with a dangerous force. Were the women victims of an all-too-human vengeance, or was the devil raised in Salem that night? And if they cannot discover what truly happened, will evil rise again?"

I hadn't heard of The Lace Reader, but this sequel sounds just riveting! Time to get on this series!

The Case of the Counterfeit Criminals by Jordan Stratford
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This “winner” (School Library Journal) of a history-mystery-science series continues as the Wollstonecraft Detectives--Ada Byron Lovelace and Mary Shelley--take on a case from the celebrated dinosaur bone hunter, Mary Anning.

The Wollestonecraft Girls embark on their most important case yet--the famed dinosaur fossil hunter Mary Anning is being blackmailed. Her precious dog has been snatched and the kidnappers are demanding that Miss Anning authenticate some fake dinosaur bones up for auction at the British Museum in order to get him back. Ada and Mary have just three days to track down the fossil fakers, find the dog, and save the integrity of science!

The game is truly afoot in this quirky caper involving blood-sucking leeches, an asthmatic pug, smoke bombs, secret elevators, diabolical disguises, and wicked word-play."

Come on people! Look at this awesomeness. Oh, and of course the simply charming art of Kelly Murphy.

The Twist by George Mann
Published by: Titan Comics
Publication Date: January 24th, 2017
Format: Hardcover, 128 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"DON'T MISS THE STUNNING FIFTH COLLECTION OF THE TWELFTH DOCTOR'S ALL-NEW COMICS ADVENTURES!

Collecting Year Two #6 - 10 of the ongoing Twelfth Doctor comic adventures!

The Doctor visits planet Twist, the colony with 'the best punk scene this side of the 40th century!' But something is amiss when a murder mystery occurs, leading the Doctor and the planet's inhabitants to question their very origins!

A haunted house also causes problems for the Doctor, having strange ramifications a house should never have... and this one feels decidedly Time Lord!"

My friend George has a new Doctor Who collection out! And it looks like he's going to properly integrate that guitar instead of using it as a lame prop like the TV show does.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Brunonia Barry, Doctor Who, George Mann, J.R.R. Tolkien, Kelly Murphy, Margery Allingham, Simon Tolkien, The Fifth Petal, The Mistress of Paris, The White Cottage Mystery, Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, WWI

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: January 26th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The New York Times bestselling author of The Aviator’s Wife returns with a triumphant new novel about New York’s “Swans” of the 1950s—and the scandalous, headline-making, and enthralling friendship between literary legend Truman Capote and peerless socialite Babe Paley.

Of all the glamorous stars of New York high society, none blazes brighter than Babe Paley. Her flawless face regularly graces the pages of Vogue, and she is celebrated and adored for her ineffable style and exquisite taste, especially among her friends—the alluring socialite Swans Slim Keith, C. Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness, and Pamela Churchill. By all appearances, Babe has it all: money, beauty, glamour, jewels, influential friends, a prestigious husband, and gorgeous homes. But beneath this elegantly composed exterior dwells a passionate woman—a woman desperately longing for true love and connection.

Enter Truman Capote. This diminutive golden-haired genius with a larger-than-life personality explodes onto the scene, setting Babe and her circle of Swans aflutter. Through Babe, Truman gains an unlikely entrée into the enviable lives of Manhattan’s elite, along with unparalleled access to the scandal and gossip of Babe’s powerful circle. Sure of the loyalty of the man she calls “True Heart,” Babe never imagines the destruction Truman will leave in his wake. But once a storyteller, always a storyteller—even when the stories aren’t his to tell.

Truman’s fame is at its peak when such notable celebrities as Frank and Mia Sinatra, Lauren Bacall, and Rose Kennedy converge on his glittering Black and White Ball. But all too soon, he’ll ignite a literary scandal whose repercussions echo through the years. The Swans of Fifth Avenue will seduce and startle readers as it opens the door onto one of America’s most sumptuous eras."

This week is called, all the eras I'd visit if I had a time machine...

The Record Set Right by Lauren Willig
Published by: William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date: January 26th, 2016
Format: Kindle
To Buy

No description, but this is a short story that is part of the book Fall of Poppies out in March. Also, Lauren Willig, so duh I'm buying it AND the collection!

The Plague of Thieves Affair by Marcia Muller and Bill Pronzini
Published by: Forge Books
Publication Date: January 26th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"John Quincannon has been hired by the owner of the Golden State brewery to investigate th ''accidental'' death of the head brewmaster, who drowned in a vat of beer. John is certain he can catch his quarry, but his partner, Sabina, is not sure she even wants to catch hers: Sherlock Holmes or, rather, the madman claiming his identity. A Mr. Roland W. Fairchild of Chicago claims the man is his first cousin, Charles P. Fairchild III, who is due to inherit a $3 million estate-- if Sabina can find him and if he can be proved sane. Sabina is quite certain he is mad but quite uncertain what will happen when he is confronted with the truth. Does every mystery need to be solved?"

Time to slip into some Victorian Streampunk.

The Case of the Girl in Grey by Jordan Stratford and Kelly Murphy
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: January 26th, 2016
Format: Hardcover, 224 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"This history-mystery series continues with another fine display of brains and bravery from the Wollstonecraft Girls—Ada Bryon Lovelace and Mary Shelley. Inspired fun for middle grade readers and fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society and Lemony Snicket!

The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency was supposed to be a secret constabulary, but after the success of their first case, all of London knows that Lady Ada and Mary are the girls to go to if you have a problem.

Their new case is a puzzle indeed. It involves a horrible hospital, a missing will, a hasty engagement, and a suspiciously slippery servant.

But Mary’s stumbled onto a mystery of her own. She spotted a ghostly girl in a grey gown dashing through the park. A girl who is the spitting image of their new client.

The two cases must be linked . . . or else there’s a perfectly supernatural explanation."

I picked up the first book in The Wollstonecraft Detective Agency series at Target one day, mainly because of my love of Kelly Murphy's illustrations, and mainly because it looked so darn cute. Can not wait for this second volume!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Fall of Poppies, Jordan Stratford, Kelly Murphy, Lauren Willig, Melanie Benjamin, Steampunk, The Plague of Thieves Affair, The Swans of Fifth Avenue, Truman Capote, Wollstonecraft Detective Agency, WWI