strange and random happenstance

You know the one good thing about this pandemic is that people are reading more than ever. They are also watching television shows more than ever in an attempt to binge the virus away. Personally getting an excuse to stay inside and do what I love to do best is like a gift. If it wasn't for lots of personal chaos and the sheer panic about what the pandemic could do, well, 2020 would be a good year instead of the worst year. Ever. Seriously people, we think things are bad? Things could get so much worse so use those new empathy skills you've acquired while reading and help to change this situation by wearing a mask and voting. End rant. Though if you're not wearing a mask know I'm SO judging you as well as avoiding you so the rant is ever ongoing in my head. So while I'm sure all these books people are currently reading will soon be heading into production as our next binges there were so many great books turned into series in the last year that one month wasn't enough to cover them all. Because I really couldn't do it in one and hey, we've all been watching more shows, so no judgment from me on your viewing habits and I hope the reverse is true. So here's to books in whatever form, paper, celluloid, digital, streaming, what have you. Here's to shows that I've enjoyed even if I have a bit of a genre itch from the supernatural to the superhero and the Emmys seem incapable of believing in genre TV. Though that might change this year with the inclusion of What We Do in the Shadows and The Mandalorian! We'll just have to wait and see!    

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 2020, Adaptation, And the Emmy Goes To, Books, Cable, Genre, Masks, Netflix, Pandemic, Star Wars, Streaming, Television, The Mandalorian, TV Show, Vote, What We Do in the Shadows

A Killing Frost by Seanan McGuire
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Now in hardcover, the fourteenth novel of the Hugo-nominated, New York Times-bestselling Toby Daye urban fantasy series.

When October is informed that Simon Torquill - legally her father, due to Faerie's archaic marriage traditions - must be invited to her wedding or risk the ceremony throwing the Kingdom in the Mists into political turmoil, she finds herself setting out on a quest she was not yet prepared to undertake for the sake of her future....and the man who represents her family's past."

Given how many books she writes in a given year anyone else expecting with this pandemic and safer at home that Seanan will have like seventy books coming out next year? 

The House That Fell From the Sky by Patrick Delaney
Published by: Oblivion Publishing
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 566 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rose Red meets Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

When twenty-nine-year-old Scarlett Vantassel comes to the conclusion that her life doesn't resemble any of the things she actually wanted for herself, she drops out of school and moves back home, attempting to reconnect with the people she left behind. But a shadow falls over her return one early October morning when a sinister house miraculously appears in the center of the city, sparking a media frenzy that attracts attention nationwide.

Soon after the newspapers label it, "The House that Fell from the Sky," Scarlett's childhood friend Hannah becomes obsessed with the idea that the house holds the key to discovering whether there really is life after death. Undeterred by her friends' numerous warnings, Hannah becomes increasingly consumed with the desire to enter the house, convinced it would allow her to reconnect with her recently deceased mother.

Despite a series of escalating events suggesting that the house may be more dangerous than anyone ever thought possible, a privately owned company seizes control of the property and hosts a lottery to lure the city's residents, promising the winners a large cash reward if they dare to enter the house. To Scarlett's horror, Hannah uses her vast wealth to secure a spot among the winners to gain access to the house.

Now, it's up to Scarlett, her older brother Tommy, and her friend Jackson to face their fears and journey into a place where nothing is ever quite as it seems, and decide if they can help a friend in need, or if Hannah truly is lost."

Sold at the mention of Rose Red. In other news, I am now rewatching Rose Red.

The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare
Published by: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From #1 New York Times bestselling authors Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu comes the second book in the Eldest Curses series and a thrilling new adventure for High Warlock Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood, for whom a death-defying mission into the heart of evil is not just a job, it’s also a romantic getaway. The Lost Book of the White is a Shadowhunters novel.

Life is good for Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood. They’re living together in a fabulous loft, their warlock son, Max, has started learning to walk, and the streets of New York are peaceful and quiet - as peaceful and quiet as they ever are, anyway.

Until the night that two old acquaintances break into Magnus’s apartment and steal the powerful Book of the White. Now Magnus and Alec will have to drop everything to get it back. They need to follow the thieves to Shanghai, they need to call some backup to accompany them, and they need a babysitter.

Also, someone has stabbed Magnus with a strange magical weapon and the wound is glowing, so they have that to worry about too.

Fortunately, their backup consists of Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and newly minted Shadowhunter Simon. In Shanghai, they learn that a much darker threat awaits them. Magnus’s magic is growing unstable, and if they can’t stop the demons flooding into the city, they might have to follow them all the way back to the source - the realm of the dead. Can they stop the threat to the world? Will they make it back home before their kid completely wears out Alec’s mom?"

I have totally lost track on how many books are now in the Shadowhunters universe, I am going to say five million. Minimum. 

Thrawn Ascendancy Book 1: Chaos Rising by Timothy Zahn
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Discover Thrawn’s origins within the Chiss Ascendancy in the first book in an epic new Star Wars trilogy from bestselling author Timothy Zahn.

Beyond the edge of the galaxy lies the Unknown Regions: chaotic, uncharted, and near impassable, with hidden secrets and dangers in equal measure. And nestled within its swirling chaos is the Ascendancy, home to the enigmatic Chiss and the Nine Ruling Families that lead them.

The peace of the Ascendancy, a beacon of calm and stability, is shattered after a daring attack on the Chiss capital that leaves no trace of the enemy. Baffled, the Ascendancy dispatches one of its brightest young military officers to root out the unseen assailants. A recruit born of no title, but adopted into the powerful family of the Mitth and given the name Thrawn.

With the might of the Expansionary Fleet at his back, and the aid of his comrade Admiral Ar’alani, answers begin to fall into place. But as Thrawn’s first command probes deeper into the vast stretch of space his people call the Chaos, he realizes that the mission he has been given is not what it seems.

And the threat to the Ascendancy is only just beginning."

Have I mentioned lately how glad I am that Thrawn wasn't totally retconned and that Timothy Zahn is still writing him? Because if not, I am!

Fangs by Sarah Andersen
Published by: Andrews McMeel Publishing,
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A love story between a vampire and a werewolf by the creator of the enormously popular Sarah's Scribbles comics.

Elsie the vampire is three hundred years old, but in all that time, she has never met her match. This all changes one night in a bar when she meets Jimmy, a charming werewolf with a wry sense of humor and a fondness for running wild during the full moon. Together they enjoy horror films and scary novels, shady strolls, fine dining (though never with garlic), and a genuine fondness for each other’s unusual habits, macabre lifestyles, and monstrous appetites.

First featured as a webcomic series on Tapas, Fangs chronicles the humor, sweetness, and awkwardness of meeting someone perfectly suited to you but also vastly different. This deluxe hardcover edition of Fangs features an “engraved” red cloth cover, dyed black page trim, and 25 exclusive comics not previously seen online. Filled with Sarah Andersen’s beautiful gothic illustrations and relatable relationship humor, Fangs has all the makings of a cult classic."

If you're a fan of Sarah's Scribbles and are in withdrawal from the end of What We Do in the Shadows, check out this book now!

The Little Ghost Who Was a Quilt by Riel Nason and Byron Eggenschwiler
Published by: Tundra Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 48 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When you're a quilt instead of a sheet, being a ghost is hard! An adorable picture book for fans of Stumpkin and How to Make Friends with a Ghost.

Ghosts are supposed to be sheets, light as air and able to whirl and twirl and float and soar. But the little ghost who is a quilt can't whirl or twirl at all, and when he flies, he gets very hot.

He doesn't know why he's a quilt. His parents are both sheets, and so are all of his friends. (His great-grandmother was a lace curtain, but that doesn't really help cheer him up.) He feels sad and left out when his friends are zooming around and he can't keep up.

But one Halloween, everything changes. The little ghost who was a quilt has an experience that no other ghost could have, an experience that only happens because he's a quilt...and he realizes that it's OK to be different."

If you don't look at that cover and read that description and go awww, I'm sorry, we can never be friends.

Grave Secrets by Alice James
Published by: Solaris
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Paperback, 300 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Agatha Raisin meets Sookie Stackhouse, with croquet and zombies.

Toni Windsor is trying to live a quiet life in the green and pleasant county of Staffordshire. She'd love to finally master the rules of croquet, acquire a decent boyfriend and make some commission as an estate agent.

All that might have to wait, though, because there are zombies rising from their graves, vampires sneaking out of their coffins and a murder to solve.

And it's all made rather more complicated by the fact that she's the one raising all the zombies. Oh, and she's dating one of the vampires too. Really, what's a girl meant to do?"

I was really hankering for some Sookie Stackhouse recently, but wanted something new, enter Alice James and Toni Windsor! 

All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 488 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The 16th novel by #1 bestselling author Louise Penny finds Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Quebec investigating a sinister plot in the City of Light.

On their first night in Paris, the Gamaches gather as a family for a bistro dinner with Armand’s godfather, the billionaire Stephen Horowitz. Walking home together after the meal, they watch in horror as Stephen is knocked down and critically injured in what Gamache knows is no accident, but a deliberate attempt on the elderly man’s life.

When a strange key is found in Stephen’s possession it sends Armand, his wife Reine-Marie, and his former second-in-command at the Sûreté, Jean-Guy Beauvoir, from the top of the Tour d’Eiffel, to the bowels of the Paris Archives, from luxury hotels to odd, coded, works of art.

It sends them deep into the secrets Armand’s godfather has kept for decades.

A gruesome discovery in Stephen’s Paris apartment makes it clear the secrets are more rancid, the danger far greater and more imminent, than they realized.

Soon the whole family is caught up in a web of lies and deceit. In order to find the truth, Gamache will have to decide whether he can trust his friends, his colleagues, his instincts, his own past. His own family.

For even the City of Light casts long shadows. And in that darkness devils hide

It's that time of the year people! Time for a new Louise Penny!

The Deadly Hours by Susanna Kearsley, C.S. Harris, Anna Lee Huber, and Christine Trent
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A stellar line-up of historical mystery novelists weaves the tale of a priceless and cursed gold watch as it passes through time wreaking havoc from one owner to another. As the hours and years pass, the characters are irrevocably linked by fate, each playing a key role in breaking the curse and destroying the watch once and for all.

From 1733 Italy to Edinburgh in 1831 to a series of chilling murders in 1870 London, and a lethal game of revenge decades later, the watch touches lives with misfortune, until it comes into the reach of one young woman who might be able to stop it for good.

As much a book of curses as a book of destinies, The Deadly Hours is a breathtaking anthology rich with atmosphere and intrigue that encapsulates the exquisite destruction, heartbreak, and redemption wrought by fate."

This is a to die for lineup of historical mystery writers! 

Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden by Tim Richardson
Published by: Quarto Publishing Group - White Lion
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Step inside the world's most famous garden and understand the strength of its attraction since is was bought and transformed by writer Vita Sackville West and diplomat Harold Nicholson in the 1930s. This unforgettable garden of rooms is influential today for its design, its exuberant planting, and its effect on visitors as a complete garden experience. Author Tim Richardson explores its power and its magic, explaining the nuances of its evolution and shows how we can all enjoy it today."

Needing some inspiration for your garden? Look no further!

The Western: Four Classic Novels of the 1940s and 50s by Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Jack Schaefer, Alan Le May, and Oakley Hall
Published by: Library of America
Publication Date: September 1st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 1110 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Rediscover the golden age of the Western with this collection of four unforgettable novels of honor, adventure, and violence set against the magnificent landscapes of the American frontier.

The heroic exploits and violent struggles of the Old West come alive once more through this one-of-a-kind collection of four thrilling novels. Edited by Ron Hansen, this deluxe hardcover edition shows that the 1940s and 1950s was a golden age for the Western novel.

In the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Ox-Bow Incident, Walter van Tilburg Clark explores the thin line between civilization and barbarism through the story of a lynch mob that targets three innocent men, exposing a dark authoritarian impulse at work the American frontier. Set in Wyoming in 1889, a time when ranchers and cattle companies waged war with each other, Jack Schaefer's iconic Shane deploys many of the genre's most essential elements, brilliantly filtered through a boy's perceptions. Alan Le May's The Searchers, the basis for John Ford's cinematic masterpiece starring John Wayne, follows the dogged quest of two men to rescue a young girl taken prisoner by Comanche warriors. And Oakley Hall's Warlock, a novel that anticipates the later books of Cormac McCarthy and Larry McMurtry, casts the battle for control of a southwestern outpost as a bloody saga pitting a marauding gang of cowboys and rustlers against the town's defenders, led by the legendary gunslinger Clay Blaisedell. All four novels were memorably adapted for the screen, and their gripping stories - told with brisk narrative energy, psychological depth, and laconic humor - have contributed unforgettably to the Western's enduring legacy in American culture."

You couldn't do any better than these four books to show you why the West is iconic and still alive!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alice James, Anna Lee Huber, C.S. Harris, Cassandra Clare, Christine Trent, Louise Penny, Patrick Delaney, Rose Red, Sarah Andersen, Seanan McGuire, Sissinghurst, Susanna Kearsley, Thrawn, Timothy Zahn, Westerns

The Mitford Scandal by Jessica Fellowes
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 21st, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
Rating: ★ 
To Buy

Louisa Cannon has turned her back on the Mitfords. She had such hopes, such dreams, and here she is a temp hired for a glamorous party at the Guinness household in London. Nothing but a domestic and not even one with a reliable salary. But this is also the night her life will change again thanks to the Mitfords, whether she wants it to or not. The debonair heir, Bryan Guinness, has been wooing Diana Mitford and what transpires at the party makes him realize life is too short and he and Diana should be wed. A maid tragically dies in what appears to be an accident and Bryan pops the question to Diana and she accepts! Now that she's the wife to a Guinness the world is Diana's oyster and she needs her own personal lady's maid, and who better than dear old Louisa? As for dear old Louisa, she isn't exactly in a position to turn the offer down. Such prestige, power, and pay, it's worth putting up with Diana's tempers. Yet murder seems to shadow Diana and Bryan when there's a death at their Paris residence three years later. No one thinks back to that poor maid on the eve of their new lives except Louisa. Louisa senses that they are somehow connected. Two accidents that shouldn't have happened is too much of a coincidence. And who better to ask for help than her old friend Guy Sullivan? He happens to be in Paris following a missing persons case with his best friend Harry and Harry's new wife, Guy's partner, Mary Moon! They sadly get nowhere on either case and Louisa is whisked off in the wake of Diana once again. Though the company Diana is starting to keep is far more political. She's turning away from the bright young things and turning towards Oswald Mosley. Louisa knows it isn't any of her business, she's paid to be Diana's friend and secret keeper, but these secrets are dangerous. And it doesn't help that this confidence doesn't go both ways. Diana won't hear about there being a murderer amongst her friends, even when a third body appears. What is Louisa to do?

If you haven't guessed by now we're working our way through the Mitford sisters in Jessica Fellowes's series, the ironically titled "Mitford Murders Mystery." So the third book means it's Diana's turn, with Unity, Decca, and Debo waiting in the wings, and yes, I feel sorry for them in advance with whatever Jessica Fellowes has planned for them. The problem with Diana is she's a deplorable. She is a genuinely horrible human. The fact that she was married to Oswald Mosley in Goebbels's drawing room with Hitler in attendance is the one sentence bio that adequately covers what a horrid human being she was. While this series has always been more concerned with the "look" of the Mitfords than the "spirit" of them I have to say that Jessica Fellowes did a good job portraying Diana, because not only did I hate the book for myriad writing and plotting reasons, but I hated it for Diana. And thankfully it feels like Jessica Fellowes hates Diana too, because I've come to terms with her being a bad writer, but if she was also a bad human, if she made Diana a heroine, well, I don't think I could stomach that. Though her hatred of Diana made the writing at times a tad heavy handed with the Nazi side of things. But I think that can be forgiven, because now, more then ever, people need to be reminded Nazis are bad. As I write this Nazi Germany is trending on Twitter, that is how relevant Nazis are. But the Diana hatred oozing off the pages made me dislike this book on a level not seen since I read Diana's autobiography A Life of Contrasts. It's really hard to like a book with an unappealing villain as the star. Add to that my myriad issues with the series as a whole, and there was no way I was going to like this. Throw in the weird timeline with us jumping years ahead at random intervals and we're supposed to believe that the crimes committed are in the front of everyone's minds all that time later? That's preposterous. Much like calling this series "A Mitford Murders Mystery."

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: A Life of Contrasts, Bryan Guinness, Diana Mitford, Guy Sullivan, Jessica Fellowes, Lady's Maid, Louisa Cannon, Murder, Nazis, Oswald Mosley, Roaring Back to Reading, The Mitford Murders, The Mitford Scandal

Bright Young Dead by Jessica Fellowes
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 30th, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★
To Buy

Pamela may be turning eighteen, but she isn't one of the fast bright young things like her sister Nancy. Pamela would far prefer a quiet and sedate birthday party, perhaps with a nice ride through the country on her horse, but does Nancy listen? Oh no. Nancy and her friends have descended on Asthall Manor and have concocted quite a delicious scavenger hunt, because it is the done thing! Though most scavenger hunts don't end in a dead body at the base of the local church tower. Because if they did, this scavenger hunt would make all the partygoers winners. Adrian Curtis has been murdered and his sister's maid Dulcie is arrested. Dulcie's shadowy past working for Alice Diamond, the Queen of the Forty Thieves, makes her guilty because of her past. But Louisa Cannon is someone who was given a second chance from her own criminal past thanks to the Mitfords and she can't see someone else who has worked so hard trying to go straight to go down for a crime she didn't commit. Therefore it's time for Louisa to dust off her rusty detective skills and get to work. As luck would have it her old crime solving partner Guy Sullivan is now a Sergeant in the actual police force, no more of this railway police thank you very much! Even more of a coincidence is that he is working with his colleague, Constable Mary Moon, investigating Alice Diamond and her latest shoplifting spree. Who knows, the two cases could be connected! One thing is certain, they both need information the other has. As they flit through the underground of London's nightlife, from dance halls to pubs, responding the the thumping urgency of the music thrumming through the clubs, emotions will run high and relationships will be strained as a murderer is lured out into the open. Can they catch a killer before everything implodes?

The ability of humans to adapt shouldn't surprise me given everything we've all been through this year, but still it sneaks up on me occasionally. Case in point is this series. I can unreservedly say that I hate these books and yet I gave this one two stars. Meaning I didn't hate it as much as I thought I did, at least when I was rating it. I've often thought that a book should have two ratings, the one you give right after reading it and the one you give a few months later as to how your memories have either favored or soured to it. In this case they have soured, more and more. The reason this book got two stars is I have already adapted after reading only one book in this series to the fact they aren't good and any improvement, no matter how slight, means it's not complete shit. Perhaps there's a song here, "I've Grown Accustomed to Your Crap?" The main reason is I wasn't shocked this time around by the fact that there are basically no Mitfords in this series despite being "A Mitford Murders Mystery." In fact half way through Bright Young Dead Jessica Fellowes completely gives up on the Mitford pretense altogether and it's just Louisa, off doing stupid things, in particular abandoning herself to Jazz music, a trope that always annoys the hell out of me and makes me want to scratch out the author's eyes, until Jessica finally remembers she's writing a series with a veneer of Mitfords and drags them hastily back on scene for the denouement. A denouement I might add that is just ripping of the movie Clue. So watch Clue instead is my recommendation. Because besides being just boring and unoriginal, this book also talks down to the reader in a way that made me want to shake some sense into the author. You really had to tell us what a fence is in such a condescending manner? Because I think at this point you need all the good will you can get to have any reader pick up the next volume.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alice Diamond, Bright Young Dead, Bright Young Things, Clue, Jessica Fellowes, Jessica Mitford, Louisa Cannon, Mitfords, My Fair Lady, Nancy Mitford, Roaring Back to Reading, Scavenger Hunt, The Mitford Murders

Kind of a Big Deal by Shannon Hale
Published by: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: August 25th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Shannon Hale, bestselling author of Austenland, comes Kind of a Big Deal: a hilarious, madcap story that will suck you in - literally.

There's nothing worse than peaking in high school. Nobody knows that better than Josie Pie.

She was kind of a big deal - she dropped out of high school to be a star! But the bigger you are, the harder you fall. And Josie fell. Hard. Ouch. Broadway dream: dead.

Meanwhile, her life keeps imploding. Best friend: distant. Boyfriend: busy. Mom: not playing with a full deck? Desperate to escape, Josie gets into reading.

Literally. She reads a book and suddenly she's inside it. And with each book, she’s a different character: a post-apocalyptic heroine, the lead in a YA rom-com, a 17th century wench in a corset.

It’s alarming. But also...kind of amazing?

It’s the perfect way to live out her fantasies. Book after book, Josie the failed star finds a new way to shine. But the longer she stays in a story, the harder it becomes to escape.

Will Josie find a story so good that she just stays forever?"

Dream author, dream concept! 

My Little Occult Book Club by Steven Rhodes
Published by: Chronicle Books
Publication Date: August 25th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 80 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"My Little Occult Book Club is a hilarious collection of Steven Rhodes' parody book covers for the aspiring occultist, exorcist, necromancer, and more, illustrated in his fan-favorite artistic twist on retro '70s and '80s children's books.

The humorous fake titles include Sell Your Soul! (Economics for Children), Necromancy for Beginners, and Caring for Your Demon Cat, and much more.

• Written in a playful voice that parodies subscription book catalogs
• Features puzzles, activities, and even a free fold-out poster 
• Funny fake mail order offers for gifts such as "Cursed Videocassette"

Whether you're looking for a health guide for your changing werewolf body or a simple introduction to alien abduction, this silly and twisted read features a wide selection of books for any occult need.

For fans of dark humor, nostalgic horror, and vintage books alike, don't wait - order today!

• Perfect gift for fans of Stranger Things, IT, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
• Add it to the shelf with books like Yiddish with Dick and Jane by Ellis Weiner and Barbara Davilman and My Best Friend's Exorcism: A Novel by Grady Hendrix"

As a graphic designer and book cover connoisseur who has a dark sense of humor, this is a must buy book for me.

Ink and Sigil  by Kevin Hearne
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: August 25th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his beloved Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

“Ink and Sigil is escape reading, and I loved every word.” - Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author of A Longer Fall.

Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails - and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective - while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive."

I don't know if you follow Charlaine Harris's book recommendations like I do, but they are ALWAYS good. So listen to Charlaine and get this book!

Chili Cauldron Curse  by Lynn Cahoon
Published by: Kensington Books
Publication Date: August 25th, 2020
Format: Kindle, 100 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New York Times bestselling author Lynn Cahoon introduces a new heroine with her own special brand of culinary magic in this novella to introduce her Kitchen Witch series.

When Mia Malone’s grandmother asks her to take a week away from her restaurant job and come to Magic Springs, Idaho, she’s happy to oblige. Like Mia, Grans has witchcraft running through her veins, and life with her is never boring. Plus, the cause is a good one - helping Grans get the local food bank up and running again. But there’s an unappetizing surprise in store. While Mia is knee-deep in boxes of donated produce, she encounters the body of Dorian Alexander.

Dorian was a warlock, leader of the local coven. He was also her Grans’ new beau. There’s no potion that’ll make this trouble disappear. But if Mia wants to keep her Grans - now a prime suspect - from serving a spell in prison, she’ll have to unearth the real killer fast...."

Anyone else thinking, I want something to read reminiscent of the Sarah Michelle Geller and Sean Patrick Flanery film Simply Irresistible? Well here you go!

Killer Kung Pao by Vivien Chien
Published by: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Publication Date: August 25th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Vivien Chen's Lana Lee returns for Killer Kung Pao, another delectable cozy set in a Chinese restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio!

Is life at the Ho-Lee Noodle House becoming too hot to handle?

Lana Lee’s plate is already plenty full. Running her family’s Chinese restaurant in Cleveland’s Asia Village is challenging on the best of days. But just when Lana thinks she might be able to catch her breath before the weekend - which she’s eager to spend with her equally overworked boyfriend, Detective Adam Trudeau - Lana witnesses a car accident in the parking lot. And now she has no choice but to get involved.

June Yi, of Yi’s Tea and Bakery, is a serious businesswoman well-known for her heartlessness. But June meets her match when she rear-ends the Cadillac belonging to Mah Jong lover Mildred “Millie” Mao. As each woman curses - and threatens - the other, it becomes clear to Lana that trouble lies ahead. Still, who could have imagined that Millie would end up dead at the beauty salon? The evidence suggests that she was electrocuted while having a foot bath, and all eyes are on June. Can Lana find a way to solve this case before another fatality occurs in Asia Village?"

I can't be the only one wanting my summer reading to end with some "steaming hot homicide?" 

Blunt Force by Lynda La Plante
Published by: Zaffre
Publication Date: August 25th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Jane Tennison must navigate the salacious world of theatre to solve a brutal murder in the heart of London's West End, in the brilliant new thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama, Lynda La Plante.

Things can't get much worse for detective Jane Tennison. Unceremoniously kicked off the adrenaline-fuelled Flying Squad, she now plies her trade in Gerald Road, a small and sleepy police station in the heart of London's affluent Knightsbridge.

With only petty crime to sink her teeth into, Tennison can feel her career slowly flatlining. That is until the discovery of the most brutal murder Jane has ever seen: Charlie Foxley has been found viciously beaten to death with a cricket bat - his body dismembered and disembowelled.

As a big-time theatrical agent, Foxley had a lot of powerful friends - but just as many enemies. And alongside her old friend DS Spencer Gibbs, Tennison must journey into the salacious world of show business to find out which one is the killer, before they strike again."

I'd be happy if it was just a Jane Tennison mystery, but one in the world of theatre!?! YAS!

Murder at Kingscote by Alyssa Maxwell
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: August 25th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In late nineteenth-century Newport, Rhode Island, journalist Emma Cross discovers the newest form of transportation has become the newest type of murder weapon...

On a clear July day in 1899, the salty ocean breeze along Bellevue Avenue carries new smells of gasoline and exhaust as Emma, now editor-in-chief of the Newport Messenger, covers Newport's first-ever automobile parade. But the festive atmosphere soon turns to shock as young Philip King drunkenly swerves his motorcar into a wooden figure of a nanny pushing a pram on the obstacle course.

That evening, at a dinner party hosted by Ella King at her magnificent Gothic-inspired "cottage," Kingscote, Emma and her beau Derrick Andrews are enjoying the food and the company when Ella’s son staggers in, obviously still inebriated. But the disruption is nothing compared to the urgent shouts of the coachman. Rushing out, they find the family's butler pinned against a tree beneath the front wheels of Philip's motorcar, close to death.

At first, the tragic tableau appears to be a reckless accident - one which could ruin Philip's reputation. But when Emma later receives a message informing her that the butler bullied his staff and took advantage of young maids, she begins to suspect the scene may have been staged and steers the police toward a murder investigation. But while Emma investigates the connections between a competing heir for the King fortune, a mysterious child, an inmate of an insane asylum, and the brutal boxing rings of Providence, a killer remains at large - with unfinished business to attend to..."

Ah, for the days when the wealthy left the city for the summer and committed murders elsewhere! Go back to those days and pretend that summer is just starting and not about to end.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alyssa Maxwell, Book Covers, Charlaine Harris, Gilded Newport, Jane Tennison, Kevin Hearne, Lynda La Plante, Lynn Cahoon, Sean Patrick Flanery, Shannon Hale, Simply Irresistible, Steven Rhodes, Vivien Chien

The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: January 23rd, 2018
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
Rating: ★
To Buy

Florence Nightingale Shore, the goddaughter of the famous nurse, was brutally beaten and left for dead on a train. Days later she would die. But why would anyone want to kill a woman who gave her life to good deeds, just has her namesake had? Three people who are tenuously connected to Florence will band together to solve her mystery. First there is Louisa Cannon. She happened to be on the same railway line under duress when the crime happened. Second there is Guy Sullivan. He works for the railway as a policeman but longs to work for Scotland Yard and rescues Louisa from the clutches of her uncle. Finally there is Nancy Mitford. Louisa was on her way to interview for a position with the Mitford family at Asthall Manor in the Oxfordshire countryside when everything went pear-shaped. Nancy herself has a connection to the murder victim, in that her dear Nanny Blor's twin sister was a good friend to Florence Shore and that was where Florence was headed when she met her untimely demise. But it's only due to some grand plan that Louisa could never comprehend that despite being late for her interview she is taken on by the Mitfords and forges a friendship with Nancy that happens to revolve around solving this lurid crime that has everyone talking! So many what-ifs and twists of fate in Louisa's favor! But thanks to everything lining up just so it looks like Florence Nightingale Shore's murder will be avenged by a debutante, a nursery maid, and a four-eyed wanna be copper.

The Mitfords are what brought me to this book, but the truth is that this book only has the thinnest veneer of Mitfords while all the heavy lifting is done by two characters out of central casting, Guy and Louisa. I don't take issue with Guy and his tenacity that gets the job done where his intellect and poor eyesight can't, I take all my issues with Louisa. A Victorian street urchin whose family has fallen on bad times and who has learned some unsavory skills in order to make a few bob transplanted out of a hundred different stories and placed in the 1920s. I've read about a "Louisa" in so many books that having her the star here just baffled me. There was no hook, no interest, just her. Again. And this when you have the Mitfords right here! Mitfords that are so two-dimensional I seriously wonder if Jessica Fellowes did any research on them at all. She uses their nicknames and that's about it. Well, other people besides Mitfords have nicknames so really, they could have been anyone. Therefore I had to pin my hopes on the "true crime" angle. Alas, this let me down as well with the murder in the end not being properly explained. Also "no one saw her alive again" as a tagline is WRONG she didn't die for like four days! The bigger picture couldn't hold my attention so the little errors started piling up and annoying me, like an itch I couldn't scratch deep under my skin. Louisa drinking from a cup of tea and then the cup being untouched. Little things over and over that hand me flipping back and forth through the book going, hang on a minute, that's wrong from what we learned earlier. Why did Nancy's birthday have to be moved up a year? Why does time have no meaning anymore? How long have I been reading this book again? Questions that will never have answers, especially that last one.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1920s, Asthall Manor, Florence Nightingale Shore, Guy Sullivan, Jessica Fellowes, Louisa Cannon, Mitfords, Murder, Nancy Mitford, Oxfordshire, Roaring Back to Reading, Stock Character, The Mitford Murders, Trains

Six sisters raised in an unorthodox manner, with their own argot, Honnish, with education being for boys, not girls, they never had a formal education, yet despite that hindrance, two of them went on to become celebrated writers, with Nancy Mitford regarded as one of the best writers of the 20th century. They are a topic of conversation that would make any Anglophiles sqweee with joy and historians of the bright young things generation pant. In any time period the Mitfords would be called eccentric which made them all the more memorable. As The New York Times said: "A Nazi, a Fascist, a Communist, a Novelist, a Countrywoman, a Duchess...Sisters." The eldest, Nancy, went on to be famous for her novels satirising her family, Pamela's lesbian relationship didn't raise many eyebrows especially because her younger sister Diana married the heir to the Guinness fortune then left him for Walter Mosley, the leader of Britian's Fascist movement, eventually marrying in Joseph Goebbels' drawing room with Hitler in attendance. Unity was much like her sister Diana, in that she too flocked to Hitler, but was so torn when Britain and Germany declared war that she shot herself in the head, but didn't die until after the war, lingering but wounded. Jessica meanwhile was a staunch Communist and ran off with her cousin to the Spanish Civil War, they eventually married. Deborah on the other hand was quite docile, having married the Duke of Devonshire and eventually taking the reigns of Chatsworth, one of the great houses of England, and turning it into one of the most successful country homes and tourist attractions. Of the six sisters, only Pamela and Unity never took pen to paper. While Nancy wrote fiction, it seems that the sisters main literary interest was in non-fiction. Writing biographies, not just of famous people, but also contrasting biographies of themselves. Besides their own writing there has been a plethora of books written on them, even a series of murder mysteries wherein they solve crimes from when they were bright young socialites. Controversial, stylish and notorious... They are an unforgettable family.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Argot, Chatsworth, Communist, Deborah Mitford, Diana Mitford, Duchess, Duchess of Devonshire, Fascists, Jessica Mitford, Mitfords, Nancy Mitford, Nazis, Pamela Mitford, Roaring Back to Reading, Unity Mitford, Writer

Skywatchers by Carrie Arcos
Published by: Philomel Books
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From National Book Award Finalist Carrie Arcos comes a thrilling, genre-bending mystery about the history of the Cold War and the UFO phenomenon. Perfect for fans of In the Woods by Tana French and Netflix's Stranger Things.

The year is 1952. The threat of invasion from the Soviet Union has people in a panic. The government has issued a call to civilians to act as radar - and Teddy, John, Caroline, Eleanor, Bunny, Frank, and Oscar eagerly answer. As members of their high school's "Operation Skywatch" club, they, along with others across the country, look to the sky in an effort to protect the country from attack.

But they're not prepared for the strange green light they see when on duty, which looks like nothing they've been trained to look out for. So when the mysterious object lands in the forest, Teddy, John, Caroline, and Bunny go in to investigate. Then, they disappear.

In this thrill of a novel inspired by real events, one group of teens will come face to face with the UFO phenomenon and the vastness of the unknown as they try to save one another, and possibly, the world. A powerful exploration of what if."

YA Project Blue Book!

Strange Skies of East Berlin by Jeff Loveness and Lisandro Estherren
Published by: BOOM! Studios
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 112 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A chilling and intense thriller about an American spy who encounters a terrifying inhuman threat at the heart of the Cold War.

East Berlin, 1973. Herring, a disillusioned American spy, has spent the entire Cold War infiltrating the inner circles of East German intelligence for a cause he barely believes in anymore. He’s seen everything and done anything his government asked, but his latest mission pits the brilliant, embittered operative against an enemy force so vast it could obliterate all of humanity.

The Space Race had greater consequences than even the Soviets could have guessed, and when they sent the first human ever to the stars, something not quite human followed them back. When a mysterious alien probe lands outside East Berlin and into Soviet control, the Americans send their top spy in to investigate. But as Herring gets ever closer to the truth at the heart of the conspiracy, he may find that the power he so desperately seeks is too dangerous for anyone to control or contain.

Writer Jeff Loveness (Judas) and artist Lisandro Estherren (Redneck) present a chilling and intense thriller about a terrifying inhuman threat at the heart of the Cold War - and the one American spy who can save the world...if he can save himself first."

Because aliens and the Cold War go hand in hand! 

Cruel Summer by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips
Published by: Image Comics
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Brubaker and Phillips' Criminal epic, collected in a gorgeous hardback edition.

In the summer of '88, Teeg Lawless comes home to plan the biggest heist of his career. But Teeg's son Ricky and his friends are starting down the same dark path their fathers are on, and this is about to become the worst summer of their lives.

An epic tale of tragedy handed down from generation to generation, Cruel Summer is a crime comic masterpiece from the most celebrated noir masters in the industry, creators of Criminal, Fatale, Kill or Be Killed, and The Fade Out.

Collects Criminal #1 and #5-12 in a beautiful new hardback edition with additional behind-the-scenes material."

While this arc of Criminal had high and low points I guarantee you you'll be kicking yourself if you don't pick this edition up before it goes out of print.

Vicious Spirits by Kat Cho
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"New romance and dangers abound in this companion to the crowd-pleasing Wicked Fox.

After the events of Wicked Fox, Somin is ready to help her friends pick up the pieces of their broken lives and heal. But Jihoon is still grieving the loss of his grandmother, and Miyoung is distant as she grieves over her mother's death and learns to live without her fox bead. The only one who seems ready to move forward is their not-so-favorite dokkaebi, Junu.

Somin and Junu didn't exactly hit it off when they first met. Somin thought he was an arrogant self-serving, conman. Junu was, at first, amused by her hostility toward him until he found himself inexplicably drawn to her. Somin couldn't deny the heat of their attraction. But as the two try to figure out what could be between them, they discover their troubles aren't over after all. The loss of Miyoung's fox bead has caused a tear between the world of the living and the world of the dead, and ghosts are suddenly flooding the streets of Seoul. The only way to repair the breach is to find the missing fox bead or for Miyoung to pay with her life. With few options remaining, Junu has an idea but it might require the ultimate sacrifice. In usual fashion, Somin may have a thing or two to say about that.

In Vicious Spirits, Kat Cho delivers another beguiling and addictive read full of otherworldly dangers and romance."

Sometimes I wish authors didn't get books out so fast because I have yet to read Wicked Fox! Also GRRM doesn't apply to this theory. At. All. Neither does Patrick Rothfuss.

Death at High Tide by Hannah Dennison
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Death at High Tide is the delightful first installment in the Island Sisters series by Hannah Dennison, featuring two sisters who inherit an old hotel in the remote Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall and find it full of intrigue, danger, and romance.

When Evie Mead’s husband, Robert, suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, a mysterious note is found among his possessions. It indicates that Evie may own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Isles of Scilly.

Still grieving, Evie is inclined to leave the matter to the accountant to sort out. Her sister Margot, however, flown in from her glamorous career in LA, has other plans. Envisioning a luxurious weekend getaway, she goes right ahead and buys two tickets - one way - to Tregarrick.

Once at the hotel - used in its heyday to house detective novelists, and more fixer-upper than spa resort, after all - Evie and Margot attempt to get to the bottom of things. But the foul-tempered hotel owner claims he's never met the late Robert, even after Evie finds framed photos of them - alongside Robert's first wife - in his office. The rest of the island inhabitants, ranging from an ex-con receptionist to a vicar who communicates with cats, aren't any easier to read.

But when a murder occurs at the hotel, and then another soon follows, frustration turns to desperation. There’s no getting off the island at high tide. And Evie and Margot, the only current visitors to Tregarrick, are suspects one and two. It falls to them to unravel secrets spanning generations - and several of their own - if they want to make it back alive."

I was sold at the mention of "remote Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall."

An Old Money Murder in Mayfair by Sara Rosett
Published by: McGuffin Ink
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 282 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Midnight treasure hunts, fancy-dress parties, and a blue-blooded murder...

November, 1923. Olive's school chum, Gigi, invites Olive to London because Gigi's dotty grandmother fears for her life - or so she's said to Gigi. However Olive is surprised to find that the dowager is far from muddled. The sharp and imperious matriarch refuses to admit to her worries and sends Olive on her way.

Without a client or case, Olive is swept into the glittering lifestyle of the "fast set," and their decadent excess. But then among the cocktails and champagne, a murderer strikes during a frivolous party game, and Olive realizes the dowager's fears were well-founded.

Can Olive unmask the upper crust culprit before the party's over for a Bright Young Person?

An Old Money Murder in Mayfair is the fifth installment in the popular High Society Lady Detective series from USA Today bestselling author Sara Rosett. Join Olive and her dapper sleuthing partner, Jasper, as they navigate the extravagant parties of the Bright Young People as well as their own budding relationship..."

Because right now I literally can not get enough of the 1920s!

Who's That Earl by Susanna Craig
Published by: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Paperback, 204 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Will scandalous secrets stand in the way of a second chance at love?

Miss Jane Quayle excels at invention. How else could the sheltered daughter of an English gentleman create lurid gothic novels so infamous someone wants their author silenced forever? Fortunately, Jane has taken steps to protect herself, first by assuming a pen name, and second, by taking up residence at remote Dunnock Castle, surrounded by rugged scenery that might have been ripped from the pages of one of her books. Her true identity remains a secret, until one dark and stormy night...

After years of spying for the British army, Thomas Sutherland doubts the Highlands will ever feel like home again. Nevertheless, thanks to a quirk of Scottish inheritance law, he's now the Earl of Magnus, complete with a crumbling castle currently inhabited by a notorious novelist. When the writer turns out to be the woman Thomas once wooed, suspicions rise even as mutual sparks reignite. As danger closes in, can Jane and Thomas overcome their pasts to forge a future together?"

Anyone else rewriting a certain Eurythmics song in their head to fit with the plot of this book? It can't be only me! 

Grown Ups by Emma Jane Unsworth
Published by: Gallery/Scout Press
Publication Date: August 18th, 2020
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fleabag meets Conversations with Friends in this brutally honest, observant, original novel about a woman going through a breakup...but really having more of a breakdown.

Jenny McLaine’s life is falling apart. Her friendships are flagging. Her body has failed her. She’s just lost her column at The Foof because she isn’t the fierce voice new feminism needs. Her ex has gotten together with another woman. And worst of all: Jenny’s mother is about to move in. Having left home at eighteen to remake herself as a self-sufficient millennial, Jenny is now in her thirties and nothing is as she thought it would be. Least of all adulthood.

Told in live-wire prose, texts, emails, script dialogue, and social media messages, Grown Ups is a neurotic dramedy of 21st-century manners for the digital age. It reckons with what it means to exist in a woman’s body: to sing and dance and work and mother and sparkle and equalize and not complain and be beautiful and love your imperfections and stay strong and show your vulnerability and bake and box...

But, despite our impossible expectations of women, Emma Jane Unsworth never lets Jenny off the hook. Jenny’s life is falling apart at her own hands and whether or not she has help from her mother or her friends, Jenny is the only one who will be able to pick up the pieces and learn how to, more or less, grow up. Or will she?"

I was intrigued by the Fleabag comparison and sold on the different prose style.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: 1920s, Aliens, Carrie Arcos, Cold War, Cornwall, Cruel Summer, Ed Brubaker, Emma Jane Unsworth, Fleabag, Hannah Dennison, Jeff Loveness, Kat Cho, Project Blue Book, Sara Rosett, Sean Phillips, Susanna Craig