strange and random happenstance

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Published by: Ballantine Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone knows DAISY JONES AND THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity...until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock ’n’ roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones and The Six, brilliantly capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice."

I think this might be the most buzzed about book this spring, with film rights already secured!

Mary Ventura and the Ninth Kingdom by Sylvia Plath
Published by: Harper
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 64 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Never before published, this newly discovered story by literary legend Sylvia Plath stands on its own and is remarkable for its symbolic, allegorical approach to a young woman’s rebellion against convention and forceful taking control of her own life.

Written while Sylvia Plath was a student at Smith College in 1952, Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom tells the story of a young woman’s fateful train journey.

Lips the color of blood, the sun an unprecedented orange, train wheels that sound like “guilt, and guilt, and guilt”: these are just some of the things Mary Ventura begins to notice on her journey to the ninth kingdom.

“But what is the ninth kingdom?” she asks a kind-seeming lady in her carriage. “It is the kingdom of the frozen will,” comes the reply. “There is no going back.”

Sylvia Plath’s strange, dark tale of female agency and independence, written not long after she herself left home, grapples with mortality in motion."

This book falls into the category of books my dad thinks shouldn't be released...

The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag
Published by: Atria Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Named Best Debut Novel of 2017 by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers.

One morning in the autumn of 1793, watchman Mikel Cardell is awakened from his drunken slumber with reports of a body seen floating in the Larder, once a pristine lake on Stockholm’s Southern Isle, now a rancid bog. Efforts to identify the bizarrely mutilated corpse are entrusted to incorruptible lawyer Cecil Winge, who enlists Cardell’s help to solve the case. But time is short: Winge’s health is failing, the monarchy is in shambles, and whispered conspiracies and paranoia abound.

Winge and Cardell become immersed in a brutal world of guttersnipes and thieves, mercenaries and madams. From a farmer’s son who is lead down a treacherous path when he seeks his fortune in the capital to an orphan girl consigned to the workhouse by a pitiless parish priest, their gruesome investigation peels back layer upon layer of the city’s labyrinthine society. The rich and the poor, the pious and the fallen, the living and the dead - all collide and interconnect with the body pulled from the lake.

Breathtakingly bold and intricately constructed, The Wolf and the Watchman brings to life the crowded streets, gilded palaces, and dark corners of late-eighteenth-century Stockholm, offering a startling vision of the crimes we commit in the name of justice, and the sacrifices we make in order to survive."

Any book touted as "The Alienist set in eighteenth-century Stockholm" is a must read for me!

The Devil Aspect by Craig Russell
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Prague, 1935: Viktor Kosárek, a psychiatrist newly trained by Carl Jung, arrives at the infamous Hrad Orlu Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The state-of-the-art facility is located in a medieval mountaintop castle outside of Prague, though the site is infamous for concealing dark secrets going back many generations. The asylum houses the country's six most treacherous killers-known to the staff as The Woodcutter, The Clown, The Glass Collector, The Vegetarian, The Sciomancer, and The Demon - and Viktor hopes to use a new medical technique to prove that these patients share a common archetype of evil, a phenomenon known as The Devil Aspect. As he begins to learn the stunning secrets of these patients, five men and one woman, Viktor must face the disturbing possibility that these six may share another dark truth.

Meanwhile, in Prague, fear grips the city as a phantom serial killer emerges in the dark alleys. Police investigator Lukas Smolak, desperate to locate the culprit (dubbed Leather Apron in the newspapers), realizes that the killer is imitating the most notorious serial killer from a century earlier - London's Jack the Ripper. Smolak turns to the doctors at Hrad Orlu for their expertise with the psychotic criminal mind, though he worries that Leather Apron might have some connection to the six inmates in the asylum.

Steeped in the folklore of Eastern Europe, and set in the shadow of Nazi darkness erupting just beyond the Czech border, this stylishly written, tightly coiled, richly imagined novel is propulsively entertaining, and impossible to put down."

Prague, a Jack the Ripper imitator? All the yes!

Wild Country by Anne Bishop
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 496 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this powerful and exciting fantasy set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Others series, humans and the shape-shifting Others will see whether they can live side by side...without destroying one another.

There are ghost towns in the world - places where the humans were annihilated in retaliation for the slaughter of the shape-shifting Others.

One of those places is Bennett, a town at the northern end of the Elder Hills - a town surrounded by the wild country. Now efforts are being made to resettle Bennett as a community where humans and Others live and work together. A young female police officer has been hired as the deputy to a Wolfgard sheriff. A deadly type of Other wants to run a human-style saloon. And a couple with four foster children - one of whom is a blood prophet - hope to find acceptance.

But as they reopen the stores and the professional offices and start to make lives for themselves, the town of Bennett attracts the attention of other humans looking for profit. And the arrival of the outlaw Blackstone Clan will either unite Others and humans...or bury them all."

Another solid entry in the Others series by Anne Bishop. 

That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Now a Hugo-nominated series!

The eighth book in the funny and fast-paced InCryptid urban fantasy series returns to the mishaps of the Price family, eccentric cryptozoologists who safeguard the world of magical creatures living in secret among humans.

Crossroads, noun:

1. A place where two roads cross.
2. A place where bargains can be made.
3. See also “places to avoid.”

Antimony Price has never done well without a support system. As the youngest of her generation, she has always been able to depend on her parents, siblings, and cousins to help her out when she’s in a pinch - until now. After fleeing from the Covenant of St. George, she’s found herself in debt to the crossroads and running for her life. No family. No mice. No way out.

Lucky for her, she’s always been resourceful, and she’s been gathering allies as she travels: Sam, fūri trapeze artist turned boyfriend; Cylia, jink roller derby captain and designated driver; Fern, sylph friend, confidant, and maker of breakfasts; even Mary, ghost babysitter to the Price family. Annie’s actually starting to feel like they might be able to figure things out - which is probably why things start going wrong again.

New Gravesend, Maine is a nice place to raise a family…or make a binding contract with the crossroads. For James Smith, whose best friend disappeared when she tried to do precisely that, it’s also an excellent place to plot revenge. Now the crossroads want him dead and they want Annie to do the dirty deed. She owes them, after all.

And that’s before Leonard Cunningham, aka, “the next leader of the Covenant,” shows up...

It’s going to take everything Annie has and a little bit more to get out of this one. If she succeeds, she gets to go home. If she fails, she becomes one more cautionary tale about the dangers of bargaining with the crossroads.

But no pressure."

The question has to be asked, how does Seanan put out almost as many books as James Patterson without a whole cadre of co-writers?

Chocolate a la Murder by Kirsten Weiss
Published by: Midnight Ink
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 312 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Maddie gets rattled by a candy-coated murder.

It’s Wine and Chocolate Days in San Benedetto, and paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has sweet dreams about her new Magic of Chocolate exhibit. Her latest attraction is a haunted Mexican whisk called a molinillo that rattles if someone lies.

When Maddie visits the town’s new boutique chocolate shop, she finds one of the owners dead and covered in melted cocoa. Maddie’s determined to catch the killer, and she soon uncovers deadly dealings in the world of artisan chocolate. But the deception surrounding those dealings are enough to make the molinillo rattle all night. Will Maddie have to temper her passion for sleuthing before a killer makes her fate bittersweet?"

I love my cozies with a little bit of magic. Here's hoping that the demise of Midnight Ink doesn't mean then end of this series!

The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane by Julia Nobel
Published by: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 312 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The first in an exciting new series, this suspenseful debut brings readers on a journey filled with secrets, mystery, and unforgettable characters.

With a dad who disappeared years ago and a mother who's a bit too busy to parent, Emmy is shipped off to Wellsworth, a prestigious boarding school in England, where she's sure she won't fit in.

But then she finds a box of mysterious medallions in the attic of her home - medallions that belonged to her father. Her father who may have gone to Wellsworth.

When she arrives at school, she finds the strange symbols from the medallions etched into walls and books, which leads Emmy and her new friends, Jack and Lola, to Wellsworth's secret society: The Order of Black Hollow Lane. Emmy can't help but think that the society had something to do with her dad's disappearance, and that there may be more than just dark secrets in the halls of Wellsworth."

A possibly sinister boarding school in England? It's like this author read my mind as to what I wanted in a book!

Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles by Thomas Lennon
Published by: Amulet Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Fourteen-year-old Ronan Boyle is the youngest and lowliest recruit to the secret Garda, an Irish police force that handles the misdeeds of numerous magical creatures. Ronan’s parents are in jail, but Ronan is convinced that they were framed by the wee people. So, despite his small size, poor eyesight, and social awkwardness, he’s determined to learn all he can in the Garda in order to prove his parents’ innocence. To show he’s got what it takes, he’ll have to confront a fiery leprechaun, a sinister harpy, and a whole world of monsters hidden in plain sight next to real-life Ireland. Fast paced, action packed, and completely hilarious, this is the start to an exciting new middle-grade series by actor and writer Thomas Lennon."

I worship everything Thomas Lennon does. Therefore I worship the fact he's now a children's author. I only wish he was doing an event closer to me!

The Cottingley Fairies by Ana Sender
Published by: NorthSouth Books
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 48 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Elsie and Frances feel sad for adults who simply can’t see the magic in the forests around them. If only they could see what we see.

In 1918, Elsie Wright and her cousin Frances Griffith photographed fairies in their garden, in the small village of Cottingley (Yorkshire). Without expecting it, many people paid attention - including renowned writer and spiritualist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is the story, narrated by Elsie herself, of the true events that led to the Cottingley Fairies becoming a international phenomenon."

I have been obsessed with the Cottingley Fairies for years, so it's no surprise I love this book with it's beautiful illustrations.

Literary Places by Sarah Baxter and Amy Grimes
Published by: White Lion Publishing
Publication Date: March 5th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Inspired Traveller’s Guides: Literary Places takes you on an enlightening journey through the key locations of literature’s best and brightest authors, movements, and moments - brought to life through comprehensively researched text and stunning hand-drawn artwork.

Travel journalist Sarah Baxter provides comprehensive and atmospheric outlines of the history and culture of 25 literary places around the globe, as well as how they intersect with the lives of the authors and the works that make them significant. Full-page color illustrations instantly transport you to each location. You’ll find that these places are not just backdrops to the tales told, but characters in their own right.

Travel to the sun-scorched plains of Don Quixote’s La Mancha, roam the wild Yorkshire moors with Cathy and Heathcliff, or view Central Park through the eyes of J.D. Salinger’s antihero. Explore the lush and languid backwaters of Arundhati Roy’s Kerala, the imposing precipice of Joan Lindsay’s Hanging Rock, and the labyrinthine streets and sewers of Victor Hugo’s Paris.

Delve into this book to discover some of the world’s most fascinating literary places and the novels that celebrate them."

I love walking in the footsteps of favorite books and authors, whether in actuality or from the comfort of my armchair delighting in Amy Grimes's artwork.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Anne Bishop, Cottingley Fairies, Daisy Jones and The Six, Julia Nobel, Kirsten Weiss, Literary Places, Seanan McGuire, Sylvia Plath, The Devil Aspect, The Wolf and the Watchman, Thomas Lennon

My love of all things Gothic isn't going away anytime soon, so I figure, Going Gothic is here to stay. A permanent fixture during the blustery time of year when the snow melts and reveals all the secrets it's been hiding. Even though that can happen as late as May in Wisconsin, I am ever hopeful that it will be in March. What I love about the "umbrella" of the term Gothic is that so many books can fit under it, from romantic parody of the Gothic tropes, to all out horror, and everything in between, and yes, that is basically what you're getting this time around. A veritable cornucopia of Gothic goodness. Also here's hoping, knock on wood, that I do not have a whole bunch of health issues, including the worst cold I might have ever had, happen again this month so everything arrives on time instead of a few hours to a few weeks later... sorry Assassination Vacation, you will shortly have all your posts up. I think.  

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Assassination Vacation, Going Gothic, Gothic, Health Issues, Horror, Parody, Sick, Wisconsin

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Published by: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date: February 26th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 848 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the internationally bestselling author of The Bone Season, an enthralling epic fantasy about a world on the brink of war with dragons - and the women who must lead the fight to save it.

A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction--but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep."

This book has literally been recommended to me by every author I love. Plus DRAGONS! I should note that no dragon actually recommended this book to me.

American Duchess by Karen Harper
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 26th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Before there was Meghan Markle, there was Consuelo Vanderbilt, the original American Duchess. Perfect for readers of Jennifer Robson and lovers of Downton Abbey.

Karen Harper tells the tale of Consuelo Vanderbilt, her “The Wedding of the Century” to the Duke of Marlborough, and her quest to find meaning behind “the glitter and the gold.”

On a cold November day in 1895, a carriage approaches St Thomas Episcopal Church on New York City’s Fifth Avenue. Massive crowds surge forward, awaiting their glimpse of heiress Consuelo Vanderbilt. Just 18, the beautiful bride has not only arrived late, but in tears, yet her marriage to the aloof Duke of Marlborough proceeds. Bullied into the wedding by her indomitable mother, Alva, Consuelo loves another. But a deal was made, trading some of the vast Vanderbilt wealth for a title and prestige, and Consuelo, bred to obey, realizes she must make the best of things.

At Blenheim Palace, Consuelo is confronted with an overwhelming list of duties, including producing an “heir and a spare,” but her relationship with the duke quickly disintegrates. Consuelo finds an inner strength, charming everyone from debutantes to diplomats including Winston Churchill, as she fights for women’s suffrage. And when she takes a scandalous leap, can she hope to attain love at last…?

From the dawning of the opulent Gilded Age, to the battles of the Second World War, American Duchess is a riveting tale of one woman’s quest to attain independence - at any price."

Yes, I'm missing Downton Abbey... this book feels like the perfect cure. 

The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies
Published by: Penguin
Publication Date: February 26th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 315 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A stolen sister. A daughter determined to uncover the truth.

Belle Hatton has embarked upon an exciting new life far from home: a glamorous job as a nightclub singer in 1930s Burma, with a host of sophisticated new friends and admirers. But Belle is haunted by a mystery from the past - a 25 year old newspaper clipping found in her parents' belongings after their death, saying that the Hattons were leaving Rangoon after the disappearance of their baby daughter, Elvira.

Belle is desperate to find out what happened to the sister she never knew she had - but when she starts asking questions, she is confronted with unsettling rumours, malicious gossip, and outright threats. Oliver, an attractive, easy-going American journalist, promises to help her, but an anonymous note tells her not to trust those closest to her...

Belle survives riots, intruders, and bomb attacks - but nothing will stop her in her mission to uncover the truth. Can she trust her growing feelings for Oliver? Is her sister really dead? And could there be a chance Belle might find her?"

A slightly more exotic historical fiction book...

The Lost Night by Andrea Bartz
Published by: Crown
Publication Date: February 26th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"What really happened the night Edie died? Years later, her best friend Lindsay will learn how unprepared she is for the truth.

In 2009, Edie had New York’s social world in her thrall. Mercurial and beguiling, she was the shining star of a group of recent graduates living in a Brooklyn loft and treating New York like their playground. When Edie’s body was found near a suicide note at the end of a long, drunken night, no one could believe it. Grief, shock, and resentment scattered the group and brought the era to an abrupt end.

A decade later, Lindsay has come a long way from the drug-addled world of Calhoun Lofts. She has devoted best friends, a cozy apartment, and a thriving career as a magazine’s head fact-checker. But when a chance reunion leads Lindsay to discover an unsettling video from that hazy night, she starts to wonder if Edie was actually murdered - and, worse, if she herself was involved. As she rifles through those months in 2009 - combing through case files, old technology, and her fractured memories - Lindsay is forced to confront the demons of her own violent history to bring the truth to light."

A love a good cold case and personal secrets story!

Dead of Winter by Annelise Ryan
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: February 26th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Winters in Sorenson, Wisconsin, can be unforgiving. But it’s murder that keeps Mattie and her family from settling into their new home...

A new home, a new marriage, a new family. It’s a lot to sort out. But before medicolegal death investigator Mattie can smooth out the unexpected chaos of her new life, duty calls. At the local ER, a battered and bruised teenage girl has been brought in by a mysterious man who claimed she’d fallen out of a car. The staff is suspicious, but while they attend to the teenager, the unidentified man slips out. Then the girl dies, but not before informing social worker Hildy Schneider that the man had her little sister as well.

Mattie’s exam reveals forensic evidence of long-term IV drug use and physical abuse, findings consistent with Hildy’s suspicion that the girl was a victim of human trafficking. They are able to confirm her identity as a teen who went missing six months ago, along with her sister - facts that are deeply unsettling to Mattie who now shares a home with her husband’s teenaged daughter.

Working closely with Hildy and Sorenson homicide detectives, including her husband Steve Hurley, Mattie must delve into a dark underworld to stop the ruthless trafficking of human lives - before it's too late for another young girl..."

I love murder mysteries in my home state! Be sure to check out Annelise Ryan when she stops by Mystery to Me later this week!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: American Duchess, Andrea Bartz, Annelise Ryan, Dead of Winter, Dinah Jefferies, Downton Abbey, Karen Harper, Samantha Shannon, The Lost Night, The Missing Sister, The Priory of the Orange Tree, Wisconsin

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon in early spring of 2013 when Robin LaFevers finally had a tour stop in the Midwest to promote the second book in the "His Fair Assassin" series, Dark Triumph. Six productive years since I had first found Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos at my local Barnes and Noble. She had ten books under her belt during that time, and yes, I had every one of those books in the back of my car as I headed to Illinois. Because what was a three hour ride to finally getting to meet one of my favorite authors? My friend Marie and I were making a day of it. First there was delicious pizza to be had at Giordano's, which is located right behind Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville. Then we took in the Riverwalk and saw a rather spectacular duck. A male wood duck to be precise, and growing up in a family that sold wildlife art, yes, I have to be precise. After working off some of the delicious pizza filling our bellies we went to Anderson's to get good seats for the coming talk by Robin. Not wanting to be overeager we chose seats in the second row and Marie was happy to find the last hardcover copy of Grave Mercy, as she hadn't started the "His Fair Assassin" series yet. Then we settled in for the wait.

Usually waiting for an author talk to begin is slightly onerous. You're usually in uncomfortable metal chairs and nervous excitement leads to babbling to strangers who end up thinking you're slightly unhinged. But don't discount what a good friend and a life-size poster of Richard Armitage can do for a long wait. Seriously, as much as they messed up The Hobbit with that whole trilogy, starting with An Unexpected Journey four months earlier in December of 2012, how can you NOT be drawn to that poster on the back wall of the bookstore with Richard giving off that smoldering gaze like he's looking right at you and you're the only thing in the world? Yes, there is a reason the picture with Robin is framed in this way, I couldn't cut out Richard, or Aidan if it comes to that, even if I had wanted to. Once Robin took the stage the presentation passed in a glorious haze of assassins and the history of Brittany and how Sybella is a different kind of heroine. The signing was wonderful as well, I had specifically worn my shirt that Robin had sent me and she jokingly told the rest of the signing line not to worry about "the person with the stalker level of books, we know each other." My books signed, my love of Robin and her work confirmed, Marie and I went in search of more adventures, AKA more books and food.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Aidan Turner, Anderson's Bookshop, Assassination Vacation, Book Signing, Dark Triumph, His Fair Assassin, Illinois, Naperville, Richard Armitage, Robin LaFevers, The Hobbit, Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos

The Vanishing Man by Charles Finch
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: February 19th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the critically acclaimed and USA Today bestselling author Charles Finch comes The Vanishing Man, a prequel to his Charles Lenox Victorian series, in which the theft of an antique painting sends Detective Lenox on a hunt for a criminal mastermind.

London, 1853: Having earned some renown by solving a case that baffled Scotland Yard, young Charles Lenox is called upon by the Duke of Dorset, one of England’s most revered noblemen, for help. A painting of the Duke’s great-grandfather has been stolen from his private study. But the Duke’s concern is not for his ancestor’s portrait; hiding in plain sight nearby is another painting of infinitely more value, one that holds the key to one of the country’s most famous and best-kept secrets.

Dorset believes the thieves took the wrong painting and may return when they realize their error - and when his fears result in murder, Lenox must act quickly to unravel the mystery behind both paintings before tragedy can strike again. As the Dorset family closes ranks to protect its reputation, Lenox uncovers a dark secret that could expose them to unimaginable scandal - and reveals the existence of an artifact, priceless beyond measure, for which the family is willing to risk anything to keep hidden.

In this intricately plotted prequel to the Charles Lenox mysteries, the young detective risks his potential career - and his reputation in high society - as he hunts for a criminal mastermind."

By going back to before, like with the TV show Endeavour, we're getting a fresh and new perspective of a character we've already grown to love. 

The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Deheli Clark
Published by: Tor.com
Publication Date: February 19th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 144 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"P. Djèlí Clark returns to the historical fantasy universe of "A Dead Djinn in Cairo", with the otherworldly adventure novella The Haunting of Tram Car 015.

Cairo, 1912: The case started as a simple one for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities ― handling a possessed tram car.

Soon, however, Agent Hamed Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi Youssef are exposed to a new side of Cairo stirring with suffragettes, secret societies, and sentient automatons in a race against time to protect the city from an encroaching danger that crosses the line between the magical and the mundane."

I am a sucker for all things Egyptian!

Gates of Stone by Angus Macallan
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: February 19th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 544 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a world of blood and magic, a powerful epic fantasy begins...

AN EMPEROR’S DAUGHTER WHO WILL NOT BE DENIED
Just before her sixteenth birthday, Princess Katerina is refused her rightful place as heir to the Empire of the Ice-Bear - solely because of her sex. Determined to regain her inheritance, she murders the foreign lord she’s been ordered to marry and embarks on a perilous voyage to the lush, tropical islands of the Laut Besar in search of the vast wealth and power she needs to claim the Empire for herself.

A PRINCE FORCED TO TAKE A STAND
On a small island kingdom, Prince Arjun’s idyllic life is shattered when a malignant sorcerer invades, slaughters his people and steals the sacred sword of Jun’s ancestors. With his royal father dead and his palace in ruins, Jun reluctantly tracks the sorcerer and the magical blade far across the pirate-infested waters of the Laut Besar.

A SORCERER SEEKING TO DESTROY THE WORLD
Long ago the powerful relics known as the Seven Keys were used to safely lock away the terrifying evils of the Seven Hells. With Jun’s ancient sword in his grasp, the sorcerer Mangku has claimed the first Key, and begun his mission to unleash catastrophe upon the land.

As the destinies of these three entwine in the lawless islands of the Laut Besar, the fate of humanity hangs in the balance. For if the sorcerer cannot be stopped, the world itself will be unmade..."

Literal shivers, despite the warm clime. 

The Outcast Hours edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin
Published by: Solaris
Publication Date: February 19th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The bold new anthology from the acclaimed editors of The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories.

We live our lives in the daylight. Our stories take place under the sun: bright, clear, unafraid.

This is not a book of those stories.

These are the stories of people who live at night; under neon and starlight, and never the light of day.

These are the stories of poets and police; writers and waiters; gamers and goddesses; tourists and traders; the hidden and the forbidden; the lonely and the lovers.

These are their lives. These are their stories. And this is their time:

The Outcast Hours."

I'm not just picking books with Djinn... or am I?

The Good Friend by Jo Baldwin
Published by: RedDoor Publishing
Publication Date: February 19th, 2019
Format: Kindle, 242 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"If only she knew what sort of friend I really am...

Once upon a time, Jenny and Kath were best friends. Or were they?

Their reunion after eight years apart - when Jenny pays a visit from Australia where she’s settled - begins as idyllic. But all too soon, things begin to unravel and once the past is uncovered, there’s no going back.

This beautifully written, gripping and unforgettable psychological drama about love, lies and obsession will keep you reading long in to the night.

Keep your friends close, but your best friends closer."

The best friend dynamic and how it changes, it's explosive! 

David Lynch: Someone is in My House by David Lynch
Published by: Prestel
Publication Date: February 19th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Featuring rarely seen multimedia works by the revered cult filmmaker David Lynch, this revelatory book shows how he applies his powerful imagination and visual language across genres.

David Lynch has always been in the spotlight as a filmmaker, directing some of the most iconic movies ever made, but as a visual artist, he is less widely known. Lynch delights in the physicality of painting and likes to stimulate all the senses in his work. This book brings together Lynch's paintings, photography, drawings, sculpture and installation, and stills from his films. Many of these works reveal the dark underpinnings behind Lynch's often-macabre movies. Others explore his fascination with texture and collage. Throughout, Lynch's characteristic style - surreal, stylish, and even humorous - shines through. An introduction by music journalist and Lynch biographer Kristine McKenna, along with a thought-provoking essay by curator Stijn Huijts, offers fascinating new information and perspectives on Lynch's life and career. This book reveals an unexplored facet of Lynch's oeuvre and affirms that he is as brilliant a visual artist as he is a filmmaker."

Years ago, when I was a freshman in college, David Lynch was the artist in residence at Tandem Press and the art he created was very fascinating. I love that he's an artist of MANY mediums.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Angus Macallan, Charles Finch, Charles Lenox, David Lynch, Djinn, Gates of Stone, Jo Baldwin, P. Djeli Clark, Prequels, The Good Friend, The Haunting of Tram Car 015, The Outcast Hours, The Vanishing Man

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy

Sybella escaped a horrible life to get to the convent of Saint Mortain. She was damaged and more than a little insane when she arrived, but they, and the new friends she made within the walls of the convent, made her whole again. So what does the Abbess ask of her? To go back to that horrible life because her rank and her position are perfectly placed to aid Anne, the Duchess of Brittany, in her fight against the French to maintain Brittany's independence. Because Sybella has been raised the daughter of d'Albert, Anne's most vicious suitor. A man who has worked his way through six wives and who woos through intimidation, capturing the town of Nantes in an attempt to force Anne's hand. A man so vile that the thought that Death is her father brings Sybella some comfort, because then her father isn't her father, and her brother isn't her brother, and therefore what happened between them isn't nearly as incestuous. The only reason Sybella agreed to this infernal arrangement was because the Abbess promised her that d'Albret would be marked for death. He remains unmarked and Sybella contemplates returning to her true father, but she has survived death so many times she fears she will be rejected once again.

When the convent discovers that the great warrior Beast didn't die in the bloody skirmish outside Nantes, but instead is hidden in the dungeons, Sybella is asked to aid in his release, no matter what danger this might put her in. Things seldom go to plan, and soon Sybella is on the road to Rennes treating Beast's grievous wounds, instead of being back in Nantes carrying out the convent's orders. It wasn't her idea, it was Beast's... and he didn't really give her a choice. The freedom she feels being away from d'Albret and his rotten entourage gives her hope. She can see a future for the first time, and perhaps that future includes the Beast of Waroch. She can travel the countryside with him as he uses his unique talents to call the peasantry to arms and to rise up for the Duchess and the future of Brittany! Only he is unaware of her parentage. He doesn't know that she's a d'Albret. His beloved sister Alyse was one of d'Albret's wives who died at the hands of her husband. Beast forever holds himself responsible for not rescuing his sister, and if he knew not only the truth of who Sybella is, but that it's her fault Alyse died, she could lose Beast forever. The man who she feels able to tell all her secrets to and whom she is falling for. But will her secrets force them apart forever or will they bring them closer together? Only Mortain knows.

From the moment I first finished Grave Mercy I was dying for the next book, which I feel really missed a step by being called Dark Triumph and not Grave Justice, but maybe that's just me. I needed to know what Sybella had been up to. What did the Abbess have Sybella doing? The tantalizing glimpses of her mission throughout Ismae's story in Grave Mercy just made my need to read this second installment all the more dire. Also what about Beast!?! He was LEFT FOR DEAD! In fact, given the wait I had ahead of me I spun possible outcomes, I had a very fixed idea of how the story should play out; we'd begin that first night when Ismae and Sybella were both at the convent and go on from there. Once I got my hands on Dark Triumph I realized that this wasn't at all the story I expected. That first time I read it, I loved it but I wasn't sure I liked it. At the start of Dark Triumph Sybella is such a pessimistic character. She obviously has every right to be, but having grown accustomed to the zealous narration of Ismae, this was a very strong tonal shift. Both women suffered horribly at the hands of men, yet Sybella's outlook is far bleaker. She embraces the vengeance over the mercy of death.

Sybella's past makes this book so dark that what had happened to her overshadowed her evolution the first time I picked the book up. But re-reading, knowing the dark and painful secrets Dark Triumph contained, I was able to see it far more clearly and come to like it, not just love it. There's this nostalgia the book captures where it exudes the vibe of epic fantasy films from the eighties. And no, this isn't just because I've been stuck on a couch for a few weeks with a nasty cold and oddly obsessing about Willow. Films made for kids in the eighties didn't shy away from scaring and scarring their audience. The truth they portrayed made the viewers stronger. The universality of Sybella's struggle, especially since the evolution of the #MeToo movement, hearkens back to these epic stories. A grand journey, an impossible quest, two people who have dark pasts but somehow find each other, all while tackling real world issues within the epic framework made this book mean so much to me. What's also interesting is thinking of parents letting children watch these films and wondering about protection. Who should be the protector in your life when you can't protect yourself? Because Sybella should have been surrounded by people who knew better, and it really takes her relationship with Beast to open her eyes to the fact she has been used by everybody, from her own brother to the Abbess. No one should live in a world where someone takes advantage of your fear and pain.

This pain is what informs Sybella's voice. What Robin has done with Dark Triumph is create not only another compelling narrative in this series, but she has captured Sybella's voice. There is nothing that can be more annoying then having a writer attempt to write a story form multiple points of view and have them fail utterly at it. Instead of having depth and a connection to a handful of characters instead you get a narrative that is flat because there is no distinction, no individuality, you only hear one voice, the authors. In life each person has a distinct voice, I do, you do, Ismae does, Sybella does, and on and on. When I write I fully admit that I can only capture my own voice, which works for what I do. But if Sybella had come out sounding just like Ismae, with her perky attitude and can-do spirit, then not only would this book have failed, but then the uniqueness of Ismae and her distinct voice would be belittled and cheapened. It would no longer have been hers. Instead with Sybella we have a far more educated voice. Less enthusiastic for carrying out Mortain's wishes. More circumspect, questioning, and wary. Which Sybella would have to be growing up in the dark world she inhabits. Being so different this initially led to a disconnect between the second and first book in the series, but I have since come to appreciate this expansion of the world of "His Fair Assassin."

Besides the different voice we also have a very different relationship dynamic between Beast and Sybella. They do not have the zealous righteousness that drives Ismae and Gavriel. They are driven by their dark pasts. They fight for what is right after being stomped down by the oppressive evil in the world, predominately doled out by d'Albrets. Yet neither of them seem to know when to stop pushing so sometimes the other has to be the guide for when enough is enough. This is most obviously shown when Beast occasionally helps Sybella to a state of unconsciousness to get her out of harm's way or when Sybella forces Beast to rest due to his injuries, when the last thing Beast wants is rest. The endearing aspect is that while they both have their secrets, neither one ever questions the loyalties of the other. One jumps, the other jumps. True love comes in many forms and Sybella would have been the first to question finding it in a giant of a man with a squashed face who is terrifying when the blood lust takes him on the battlefield. They compliment each other the way Ismae and Gavriel do. What I really love though is this shows that no matter how different, no matter how damaged you think yourself to be, there is always someone out there for you, they might just be found at the most inopportune of moments in the unlikeliest of places.

Of course the problem with me connecting so strongly to all the characters in the book and shipping them perhaps harder than they ship themselves is that I have a justifiable apprehension for their futures regarding both fictional and historical characters. That is the true magic of this series, that Robin has created a historical fantasy that is so real I worry about what will happen to the characters. Against my better judgment I might have spent a fair amount of time on Wikipedia looking up what really happened during the fight for Brittany to maintain it's independence and how this plays out doesn't necessarily play out how I would wish. I worry about what Ismae and Gavriel will do when the wars are done and the fight is over. How will they handle when Isabeau, Anne's beloved and sickly sister, dies? What will they think of Anne's short life? She is only 26 when she dies. How can the characters I know and love have a happy ending if Anne doesn't have one too? I really should stop obsessing about this and trust in Robin, she is a hopeless romantic and all will work out... right? Because history can be changed and Queen Victoria can end up with Lord M in a perfect world... and while this isn't a perfect world, perhaps it will be able to be perfect enough.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: #MeToo, 80s, Assassination Vacation, Beast of Waroch, Brittany, Dark Triumph, DEATH, France, Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin, Historical Fiction, History, Ismae, Mortain, Robin LaFevers, Sybella, Wikipedia, Willow

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
Published by: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: April 3rd, 2012
Format: Hardcover, 644 Pages
Rating: ★★★★★
To Buy (different edition than one reviewed)

Ismae almost died before she was born. Her mother tried to purge her from her body because she knew that Death was Ismae's father. All her life she has been marked by death with a dark wine stain from her shoulder to her hip. On the day of her marriage to a man she neither loves nor likes, he learns the truth and attempts to kill her. The herb witch that tried to end her in the womb now rescues her and sends her to the convent of St. Mortain. There Ismae learns that she is cursed, but with gifts from Death himself. Trained to be a handmaiden to Death she learns all the subtle arts from poisons to seduction, though she's not too keen on the womanly arts. She becomes a finely honed tool, an assassin for Death himself. Her first two assignments go rather well and the men are sent to their graves. The deaths of these two men though are inopportune for Brittany's government who is trying to stay an independent Duchy from France. As atonement for the inconvenience the convent has wrought the Duchy's young ruler, Anne, and her bastard brother, Gavriel Duval, Ismae is to accompany Gavriel to court and aid the country, while also serving the sometimes conflicting needs of the convent.

While at court, Gavriel is worried that he has been saddled with a loose cannon. Ismae seems to have no desire to confide in Gavriel, or ask his permission, willing to kill whomever Death has marked, whether it's convenient to Gavriel or not. That can be a bit problematic when the bodies start piling up. But Ismae has spent the last few years cloistered away from the world and never in her wildest dreams thought she would be embroiled in the affairs of the Breton Court and this new world view is shaking her beliefs. She wants to follow her orders from the convent, kill those who bear the mark, but through Gavriel she starts to wonder if the convent has things quite right. As Ismae is drawn deeper and deeper into the intrigues of the Breton Court and the Privy Council she learns that Anne is a ruler worthy of her protection and Gavriel my be a man worthy of her heart, but perhaps all that she has been taught is wrong. Perhaps the handmaidens of Death aren't there to bestow vengeance, mayhap they are to grant HIS mercy and the convent is misguided in their mission. If only St. Mortain would show her where her true destiny lies.

Back in 2011 after helping Robin with some Goodreads questions, I am after all a librarian in good standing on the site, as a thank you she sent me an ARC of the first book in her new series, Grave Mercy, as well as some swag. The "His Fair Assassin" series, with the HIM being Death, is set in Brittany in the 15th century and as Robin told me she was "curious to see what [I] think, since it is SO different from Theo!" The Theo in question being Theodosia Throckmorton, a budding Egyptologist whom Robin created and I adore. Yet while Robin is right that this series is "SO different" from Theo I wouldn't say they are worlds apart. Like Robin's other creations, including Nathaniel Fludd, there's a perfect melding of character, history, and that spark of magical realism. All these elements combine and conclusively prove that a great author is able to write in any genre and on any subject matter as long as they have a clear authorial voice and interconnected themes that come through no matter what they are writing about. Robin has that voice. It changes with the characters and the time periods she's writing about, but there's a way she grips you from the outset. She has an engaging writing style that doesn't make it feel like you're fighting the text to get from word to word and paragraph to paragraph.

Each and every time I've picked up one of Robin's books I'm surprised that when I finally, blearily, look up from the page that an hour or two or three have passed, sometimes it's even five in the morning and shouldn't I be asleep by now? But I just fall in, even reading Grave Mercy for the third time I felt like I was reading it for the first. There's a flow to the writing and you are gone. This flow is even more impressive when you think about the fact that this is, in essence, Historical Fiction. I read a lot of Historical Fiction and it can easily be bogged down with overly archaic language, too many historical events, and plot points given to you like a lesson at school that you hated the first time around and has you scrambling back and forth over the text trying to remember the minutiae of each plot and counter plot. But Robin did an amazing job of making the people, both historical and fictional, real. I fell for Ismae and her evil Hogwarts convent and then fell all over again when Gavriel showed up. These characters became friends to me. I was invested in their lives and with getting them together! Jane Austen had it so right with Darcy and Elizabeth, now just make one an assassin and the other an upright young man, and you just wait for them to realize the truth that, though they are so different, they are so right for each other.

Yet this investment in the book wouldn't work if not for Ismae. As many of you know I tend to do "dream casting" of books I read. The reason for this is twofold, I have always loved film and television so therefore when I can see an actor or actress so clearly as a character I will "cast" them in that role in my head; the second reason is sometimes the character is a little too broadly defined by the author and therefore I use my dream casting to fill in the blanks. I am making up for their shortfall. So when I stumble on a character who requires no casting I want to stand up and applaud. Here is someone so fully formed, so perfectly complete, no matter how imperfect they are, that I see them instantly in my mind's eye. This has literally only happened to me a handful of times, and I could name each and every occasion should you wish for me to do so, but for my purposes here, know that Ismae is one of these magnificent creations. She has such a unique voice, such a forceful presence, that if she were to step right out of Grave Mercy and into my library I would know her immediately and greet her as an old friend. I would then have her watch The Princess Bride with me, because near the end of her story she's channeling some serious vibes from that holiest of holy book and movie.

Re-reading Grave Mercy I started to analyze why this book connects to me and to the YA audience so fiercely and combined with the serendipitous release of Mary Queen of Scots everything fell into place. I've been complaining to my friends about how much everything about the new movie Mary Queen of Scots annoys me, from the fact that Mary somehow has a Scottish accent despite being raised in France to the two monarchs meeting when they never did. All this had me pining for the CW show Reign. Who would have ever thought that this over the top show with magic and a Medici and Nostradamus would, in it's final season, more accurately portray the last days of Mary Queen of Scots than a big blockbuster movie? I never would have! But the show, despite it's silliness, at it's core has that same spark that Grave Mercy possess. Which made me wonder, why am I drawn to courtly drama? And I realized, it's a metaphor for growing up. Being taken from a small, secluded world, be it a convent where you're training to be an assassin, or say a small Catholic school with only twenty students in your class, and being thrust into this world where you don't know the rules, be it the Breton Court or high school, this resonates with readers because they've either been through it or are currently embroiled in it. I finally get it! I get why I love this book and how it connects to me!

What I also get is how this book exposes the hypocrisy of the church. There is such a disconnect between the love Jesus preaches and the way his followers carry out what they think are HIS commandments. The complete incompatibility between God's word and what the church preaches. So much hate and vitriol comes from religion and this is why, despite going to a Catholic school for eight long years, I can not get behind organized religion. This is a big problem facing Ismae. She was raised at the convent of St. Mortain to be used by the convent to carry out Death's plan. But she realizes that the convent is fallible. She's not sure if they are promoting their own agenda over that of St. Mortain or if they truly believe that they are acting under HIS aegis, but the more Ismae sees of the world the more she realizes it isn't black and white, it isn't life or death, there are shades of grey, there is the possibility for forgiveness. Just because you are marked for death doesn't mean that it gives the convent license to kill you, it means that death is near and a decision has to be made. To see Ismae come to the realization that death isn't just vengeance, that death can be mercy, that death can be a blessing, that shatters her world, opens her eyes, makes her see the hypocrisy of what she has been taught and that the world is so much more than she could ever imagine. "There are more things in heaven and earth..."

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: ARCs, Assassination Vacation, Brittany, DEATH, France, Goodreads, Grave Mercy, His Fair Assassin, Ismae, Mary Queen of Scots, Nathaniel Fludd, Reign, Robin LaFevers, The Princess Bride, Theodosia Throckmorton

The Revenant Express by George Mann
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The grand adventure continues in George Mann's Newbury and Hobbes steampunk mystery series, as a Victorian special agent races across a continent to save his beloved's life on board The Revenant Express.

Sir Maurice Newbury is bereft as his trusty assistant Veronica Hobbes lies dying with a wounded heart. Newbury and Veronica's sister Amelia must take a sleeper train across Europe to St. Petersberg to claim a clockwork heart that Newbury has commissioned from Faberge to save Veronica from a life trapped in limbo.

No sooner do they take off then sinister goings-on start to plague the train, and it is discovered that an old villain, thought dead, is also on board and seeking revenge. Can Newbury and Amelia defeat him and get the clockwork organ back to the Fixer in time to save Veronica? And can they do so without Newbury going so far into the dark side of occult magic that he can never return?

Meanwhile, Sir Charles Bainbridge is the only one of their team left in London to struggle with a case involving a series of horrific crimes. Someone is kidnapping prominent men and infecting them with the Revenant plague, leaving them chained in various locations around the city. But why?

It's a rousing chase to save both London and Veronica. Will these brave detectives be up to the task?"

FINALLY! With the way George jumps around in his storytelling we knew Veronica would survive... but it's been AGONY to find out how. Thankfully The Revenant Express has arrived at the station. 

Felicity Carrol and the Perilous Pursuit by Patricia Marcantonio
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Amidst the heraldry of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations, a string of brutal murders rocks Britain's upper crust - and could threaten the realm itself - in the spellbinding debut of Patricia Marcantonio's Felicity Carrol mysteries.

Felicity Carrol is interested in everything - except being a proper young matron of Victorian society. Brilliant and resourceful, Felicity took refuge in science and education after her mother died and her father abandoned her to servants. Now, all he wants is for her to marry into a family of status and money.

Felicity has other ambitions - but her plans shudder to a halt when her mentor is murdered at the British Museum and his priceless manuscript of King Arthur lore is stolen. Tapping into her photographic memory and the latest in the burgeoning field of forensic detection, Felicity launches an investigation. Handsome Scotland Yard Inspector Jackson Davies is also on the case, and finds Felicity as meddlesome as she is intelligent. But when more nobles are murdered and their King Arthur relics stolen, Felicity must journey on her own into the dark underworld of antiquity theft, where she uncovers a motive far more nefarious than simple profit.

As the killer sets his sights on a new victim - a charismatic duke who has captured Felicity’s imagination - the stakes rise to impossible heights. It’s a case that could shake the kingdom in Patricia Marcantonio’s series debut, Felicity Carrol and the Perilous Pursuit."

This sounds like a wonderful little cozy whodunit!

The Victory Garden by Rhys Bowen
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 353 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the bestselling author of The Tuscan Child comes a beautiful and heart-rending novel of a woman’s love and sacrifice during the First World War.

As the Great War continues to take its toll, headstrong twenty-one-year-old Emily Bryce is determined to contribute to the war effort. She is convinced by a cheeky and handsome Australian pilot that she can do more, and it is not long before she falls in love with him and accepts his proposal of marriage.

When he is sent back to the front, Emily volunteers as a “land girl,” tending to the neglected grounds of a large Devonshire estate. It’s here that Emily discovers the long-forgotten journals of a medicine woman who devoted her life to her herbal garden. The journals inspire Emily, and in the wake of devastating news, they are her saving grace. Emily’s lover has not only died a hero but has left her terrified—and with child. Since no one knows that Emily was never married, she adopts the charade of a war widow.

As Emily learns more about the volatile power of healing with herbs, the found journals will bring her to the brink of disaster, but may open a path to her destiny."

Land girls in Devonshire? Oh yes! 

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

The official patter:
"Everyone's invited... everyone's a suspect...

For fans of Ruth Ware and Tana French, a shivery, atmospheric, page-turning novel of psychological suspense in the tradition of Agatha Christie, in which a group of old college friends are snowed in at a hunting lodge...and murder and mayhem ensue.

All of them are friends. One of them is a killer.

During the languid days of the Christmas break, a group of thirtysomething friends from Oxford meet to welcome in the New Year together, a tradition they began as students ten years ago. For this vacation, they’ve chosen an idyllic and isolated estate in the Scottish Highlands—the perfect place to get away and unwind by themselves.

They arrive on December 30th, just before a historic blizzard seals the lodge off from the outside world.

Two days later, on New Year’s Day, one of them is dead.

The trip began innocently enough: admiring the stunning if foreboding scenery, champagne in front of a crackling fire, and reminiscences about the past. But after a decade, the weight of secret resentments has grown too heavy for the group’s tenuous nostalgia to bear. Amid the boisterous revelry of New Year’s Eve, the cord holding them together snaps.

Now one of them is dead . . . and another of them did it.

Keep your friends close, the old adage goes. But just how close is too close?"

With all the buzz around this book I have literally had it preordered since day one. Plus it looks like another winter storm is on the way, so perhaps this week I'll just stay in a devour it!

Careless Love by Peter Robinson
Published by: William Morrow
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"His fans include Stephen King, Michael Connelly, Tess Gerritsen, Ian Rankin, and Louise Penney. He has won acclaim and numerous international prizes and awards, including the Edgar. Now, Peter Robinson, one of the world’s greatest suspense writers, returns with a powerful mystery in which his legendary Detective Superintendent Alan Banks must solve two perplexing crimes.

Two suspicious deaths challenge DS Alan Banks and his crack investigative team.

A young local student’s body is found in an abandoned car on a lonely country road. The death looks like suicide, but there are too many open questions for Banks and his team to rule out foul play. The victim didn’t own a car. She didn’t even drive. How did she get there? Where—and when—did she die? Did someone move her, and if so, why?

A man in his sixties is found dead in a gully up on the wild moorland. He is wearing an expensive suit and carrying no identification. Post mortem findings indicate that he died from injuries sustained during a fall. Was it an accident—did he slip and fall? Or was he pushed? Why was he up there? And why are there no signs of a vehicle near where he fell?

As the inconsistencies multiply and the mysteries surrounding these two cases proliferate, a source close to Annie reveals a piece of information that shocks the team and impacts the investigations. An old enemy has returned in a new guise—a nefarious foe who will stop at nothing, not even murder, to get what he wants.

With the stakes raised, the hunt is on. But will Banks be able to find the evidence to stop him in time?"

New DCI Banks! WHAT! WHAT!

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
Published by: Viking
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The new standalone novel from bestselling author Jasper Fforde.

Every Winter, the human population hibernates.

During those bitterly cold four months, the nation is a snow-draped landscape of desolate loneliness, devoid of human activity.

Well, not quite.

Your name is Charlie Worthing and it's your first season with the Winter Consuls, the committed but mildly unhinged group of misfits who are responsible for ensuring the hibernatory safe passage of the sleeping masses.

You are investigating an outbreak of viral dreams which you dismiss as nonsense; nothing more than a quirky artefact borne of the sleeping mind.

When the dreams start to kill people, it's unsettling.

When you get the dreams too, it's weird.

When they start to come true, you begin to doubt your sanity.

But teasing truth from the Winter is never easy: You have to avoid the Villains and their penchant for murder, kidnapping, and stamp collecting, ensure you aren't eaten by Nightwalkers, whose thirst for human flesh can only be satisfied by comfort food, and sidestep the increasingly less-than-mythical WinterVolk.

But so long as you remember to wrap up warmly, you'll be fine."

Jasper Fforde, in my mind, excels at standalones that have a hint of the apocalypse, so Early Riser is RIGHT up my alley. Terminal Uprising by Jim C. Hines
Published by: DAW
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Human civilization didn’t just fall. It was pushed.

The Krakau came to Earth in the year 2104. By 2105, humanity had been reduced to shambling, feral monsters. In the Krakau’s defense, it was an accident, and a century later, they did come back and try to fix us. Sort of.

It’s been four months since Marion “Mops” Adamopoulos learned the truth of that accident. Four months since she and her team of hygiene and sanitation specialists stole the EMCS Pufferfish and stopped a bioterrorism attack against the Krakau homeworld. Four months since she set out to find proof of what really happened on Earth all those years ago.

Between trying to protect their secrets and fighting the xenocidal Prodryans, who’ve been escalating their war against everyone who isn’t Prodryan, the Krakau have their tentacles full.

Mops’ mission changes when she learns of a secret Krakau laboratory on Earth. A small group under command of Fleet Admiral Belle-Bonne Sage is working to create a new weapon, one that could bring victory over the Prodryans … or drown the galaxy in chaos.

To discover the truth, Mops and her rogue cleaning crew will have to do the one thing she fears most: return to Earth, a world overrun by feral apes, wild dogs, savage humans, and worse. (After all, the planet hasn’t been cleaned in a century and a half!) What Mops finds in the filthy ruins of humanity could change everything, assuming she survives long enough to share it.

Perhaps humanity isn’t as dead as the galaxy thought."

Speaking of apocalypse... 

The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: February 12th, 2019
Format: Paperback, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A luxuriously magical retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in seventeenth-century France - and told from the point of view of the Beast himself.

I am neither monster nor man - yet I am both.

I am the Beast.

He is a broken, wild thing, his heart’s nature exposed by his beastly form. Long ago cursed with a wretched existence, the Beast prowls the dusty hallways of his ruined château with only magical, unseen servants to keep him company - until a weary traveler disturbs his isolation.

Bewitched by the man’s dreams of his beautiful daughter, the Beast devises a plan to lure her to the château. There, Isabeau courageously exchanges her father’s life for her own and agrees to remain with the Beast for a year. But even as their time together weaves its own spell, the Beast finds winning Isabeau’s love is only the first impossible step in breaking free from the curse..."

I am a sucker for any Beauty and the Beast retelling. 

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Beauty and the Beast, DCI Banks, Early Riser, Felicity Carrol, George Mann, Jasper Fforde, Jim C. Hines, Newbury and Hobbes, Peter Robinson, Rhys Bowen, The Hunting Party, The Revenant Express, The Victory Garden