strange and random happenstance

Secrets of the Nile by Tasha Alexander
Published by: Minotaur Books
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In a brilliant homage to Agatha Christie, critically acclaimed author Tasha Alexander sends Lady Emily to Egypt during British colonial rule to investigate a crime that leads back to the era of the Pharaohs.

In Secrets of the Nile, Lady Emily and her husband, Colin Hargreaves, have joined his formidable mother on a holiday to visit the exotic treasures of Egypt. Their host, Lord Bertram Deeley, is a renowned amateur British collector of antiquities, who has invited his closest friends on a lavish cruise up the Nile to his home at Luxor. But on the first night of their journey, he suddenly collapses after offering a welcome toast, a victim of the lethal poison cyanide. Who amongst this group of his nearest and dearest would want to kill their generous host?

Emily and Colin's investigation soon reveals that even his closest friends had reasons to want him dead: was it the archeologist whose dig Deeley was poised to fund until he suddenly withdrew support? The powerful politician whose career Deeley had secretly destroyed? The dyspeptic aristocratic English spinster whose hired travelling companion seems determined to protect her employer? Or could it be Mrs. Hargreaves herself, who may have spurned the advances of Lord Deeley when they were both younger?

A key clue may lie with several ancient ushabtis, exquisite three-thousand-year-old sculptures that played a role in a hidden story from the time of Ancient Egypt, one of a sister's unshakeable loyalty to her brother, a tale of betrayal and revenge. In an unforgettable finale, Emily and Colin gather their fellow travelers together to unmask a killer whose motive is as shocking as it is brilliant."

If you're a Lady Emily fan, you will adore it. If you're an Agatha Christie fan, you will love it. If you're an Elizabeth Peters fan, you will squeal with glee. Emily's long awaited trip to Egypt has arrived and it is a trip of a lifetime.

All That is Wicked by Kate Winkler Dawson
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Acclaimed crime historian, podcaster, and author of American Sherlock Kate Winkler Dawson tells the thrilling story of Edward Rulloff - a serial murderer who was called "too intelligent to be killed" - and the array of 19th century investigators who were convinced his brain held the key to finally understanding the criminal mind.

Edward Rulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer - some have called him a "Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter" - whose crimes spanned decades and whose victims were chosen out of revenge, out of envy, and sometimes out of necessity. From his humble beginnings in upstate New York to the dazzling salons and social life he established in New York City, at every turn Rulloff used his intelligence and regal bearing to evade detection and avoid punishment. He could talk his way out of any crime...until one day, Rulloff's luck ran out.

By 1871 Rulloff sat chained in his cell - a psychopath holding court while curious 19th-century "mindhunters" tried to understand what made him tick. From alienists (early psychiatrists who tried to analyze the source of his madness) to neurologists (who wanted to dissect his brain) to phrenologists (who analyzed the bumps on his head to determine his character), each one thought he held the key to understanding the essential question: is evil born or made? Eventually, Rulloff's brain would be placed in a jar at Cornell University as the prize specimen of their anatomy collection...where it still sits today, slowly moldering in a dusty jar. But his story - and its implications for the emerging field of criminal psychology - were just beginning.

Expanded from season one of her hit podcast on the Exactly Right network (7 million downloads and growing), in All That Is Wicked Kate Winkler Dawson draws on hundreds of source materials and never-before-shared historical documents to present one of the first glimpses into the mind of a serial killer - a century before the term was coined - through the scientists whose work would come to influence criminal justice for decades to come."

How have I never heard of Edward Rulloff until now!?!

In the Shadow of a Queen by Heather B. Moore
Published by: Shadow Mountain
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Based on the True Story of the Free-Spirited Daughter of Queen Victoria.

Princess Louise's life is upended after her father's untimely death. Captive to the queen's overwhelming mourning, Louise is forbidden to leave her mother's tight circle of control and is eventually relegated to the position of personal secretary to her mother - the same position each of her sisters held until they were married.

Already an accomplished painter, Louise risks the queen's wrath by exploring the art of sculpting, an activity viewed as unbefitting a woman. When Louise involves herself in the day's political matters, including championing the career of a female doctor and communicating with suffragettes, the queen lays down the law to stop her and devotes her full energy to finding an acceptable match for her defiant daughter.

Louise is considered the most beautiful and talented daughter of Queen Victoria, but finding a match for the princess is no easy feat. Protocols are broken, and Louise exerts her own will as she tries to find an open-minded husband who will support her free spirit.

In the Shadow of a Queen is the story of a battle of wills between two women: a daughter determined to forge her own life beyond the shadow of her mother, and a queen resolved to keep the Crown's reputation unsullied no matter the cost."

I seriously love Princess Louise and am always intrigued by the hypocrisy of Queen Victoria who on the one hand ruled the realm and on the other raised her daughters to be dutiful wives and mothers.

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
Published by: Redhook
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"S.T. Gibson's sensational novel is the darkly seductive tale of Dracula's first bride, Constanta.

This is my last love letter to you, though some would call it a confession...

Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying king. But when Dracula draws a cunning aristocrat and a starving artist into his web of passion and deceit, Constanta realizes that her beloved is capable of terrible things.

Finding comfort in the arms of her rival consorts, she begins to unravel their husband's dark secrets. With the lives of everyone she loves on the line, Constanta will have to choose between her own freedom and her love for her husband. But bonds forged by blood can only be broken by death."

I don't think enough is written about the fact that Dracula had multiple wives and wasn't only obsessed with Mina.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese
Published by: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England's witchcraft trials.

Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic - leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows -  while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Laurie Lico Albanese's Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down."

I love women reclaiming the narrative of stories that are ingrained in us due to high school literature classes.

The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond by Amanda Glaze
Published by: Union Square and Co.
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Travel beyond the veil in this thrilling and chilling supernatural debut with timely feminist themes, perfect for fans of Kerri Maniscalco - inspired by lives of real teenage twin mediums in the 19th century.

Sacramento, 1885

Edie and Violet Bond know the truth about death. The seventeen-year-old twins are powerful mediums, just like their mother - Violet can open the veil between life and death, and Edie can cross into the spirit world. But their abilities couldn't save them when their mother died and their father threatened to commit them to a notorious asylum.

Now runaways, Edie and Violet are part of a traveling Spiritualist show, a tight-knit group of young women who demonstrate their real talents under the guise of communing with spirits. Each night, actresses, poets, musicians, and orators all make contact with spirits who happen to have something to say...notions that young ladies could never openly express.

But when Violet's act goes terribly wrong one night, Edie learns that the dark spirit responsible for their mother's death has crossed into the land of the living. As they investigate the identity of her mysterious final client, they realize that someone is hunting mediums...and they may be next. Only by trusting in one another can the twins uncover a killer who will stop at nothing to cheat death."

Aw yeah, bring on the mediums!

The Witch in the Well by Camilla Bruce
Published by: Tor Books
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The Witch in the Well is a dark Norwegian thriller from Camilla Bruce, author of You Let Me In.

When two former friends reunite after decades apart, their grudges, flawed ambitions, and shared obsession swirl into an all-too-real echo of a terrible town legend.

Centuries ago, beautiful young Ilsbeth Clark was accused of witchcraft after several children disappeared. Her acquittal did nothing to stop her fellow townsfolk from drowning her in the well where the missing children were last seen.

When author and social media influencer Elena returns to the summer paradise of her youth to get her family's manor house ready to sell, the last thing she expected was connecting with - and feeling inspired to write about - Ilsbeth's infamous spirit. The very historical figure that her ex-childhood friend, Cathy, has been diligently researching and writing about for years.

What begins as a fiercely competitive sense of ownership over Ilsbeth and her story soon turns both women's worlds into something more haunted and dangerous than they could ever imagine."

Writing about the past can be dangerous!

The Restless Dark by Erica Waters
Published by: HarperTeen
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Enter Cloudkiss Canyon at your own risk.

Sadie meets Wilder Girls in this unnerving tale about the struggle for survival, the twisted satisfaction of revenge, and the darkness hiding in all of us. From Erica Waters, the acclaimed author of Ghost Wood Song and The River Has Teeth, this mystery will haunt you to the end.

The Cloudkiss Killer is dead. Now a true-crime podcast is hosting a contest to find his bones.

Lucy was almost the serial killer's final victim. Carolina is a true-crime fan who fears her own rage. Maggie is a psychology student with a little too much to hide.

All of them are looking for answers, for a new identity, for a place to bury their secrets.

But there are more than bones hiding in the shadows…sometimes the darkness inside is more frightening than anything the dead leave behind."

True-crime podcast and a serial killer, I'm in.

Malice House by Megan Shepherd
Published by: Hyperion Avenue
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 384 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Megan Shepherd comes a complex tale of dark magic, family secrets, and monsters that don’t stay on the page.

"One step away from our world lies another: a land of violent fantasies, of sharp-toothed delights...."

Of all the things aspiring artist Haven Marbury expected to find while clearing out her late father's remote seaside house, Bedtime Stories for Monsters was not on the list. This secret handwritten manuscript is disturbingly different from his Pulitzer-winning works: its interweaving short stories crawl with horrific monsters and enigmatic humans that exist somewhere between this world and the next. The stories unsettle but also entice Haven, practically compelling her to illustrate them while she stays in the house that her father warned her was haunted. Clearly just dementia whispering in his ear...right?

Reeling from a failed marriage, Haven hopes an illustrated Bedtime Stories can be the lucrative posthumous father-daughter collaboration she desperately needs to jump-start her art career. However, everyone in the nearby vacation town wants a piece of the manuscript: her father's obsessive literary salon members, the Ink Drinkers; her mysterious yet charming neighbor, who has a tendency toward three a.m. bonfires; a young barista with a literary forgery business; and of course, whoever keeps trying to break into her house. But when a monstrous creature appears under Haven's bed right as grisly deaths are reported in the nearby woods, she must race to uncover dark, otherworldly family secrets - completely rewriting everything she ever knew about herself in the process."

It's like Kate Morton but with menacing magic, who doesn't want that in their lives!?!

The White Hare by Jane Johnson
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Alice Hoffman and Kate Morton, The White Hare is a spellbinding novel about mothers and daughters finding a new home for themselves, the secrets they try to bury, and the local legends that may change their lives.

In the far west of Cornwall lies the White Valley, which cuts deeply through bluebell woods down to the sea at White Cove. The valley has a long and bloody history, laced with folklore, and in it sits a house above the beach that has lain neglected since the war. It comes with a reputation and a strange atmosphere, which is why mother and daughter Magdalena and Mila manage to acquire it so cheaply in the fateful summer of 1954.

Magda has grand plans to restore the house to its former glory as a venue for glittering parties, where the rich and celebrated gathered for cocktails and for bracing walks along the coast. Her grown daughter, Mila, just wants to escape the scandal in her past and make a safe and happy home for her little girl, Janey, a solitary, precocious child blessed with a vivid imagination, much of which she pours into stories about her magical plush toy, Rabbit.

But Janey's rabbit isn’t the only magical being around. Legend has it that an enchanted white hare may be seen running through the woods. Is it an ill omen or a blessing? As Mila, her mother, and her young daughter adjust to life in this mysterious place, they will have to reckon with their own pasts and with the secrets that have been haunting the White Valley for decades."

And speaking of Kate Morton-esque books...

In Myrtle Peril by Elizabeth C. Bunce
Published by: Algonquin Young Readers
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Myrtle Hardcastle - twelve-year-old Victorian Amateur Detective - returns to investigate the case of a missing heiress lost at sea, an inquiry that runs aground when a murder in plain sight has no apparent victim.

When a mysterious girl attempts to stake her claim to the Snowcroft family fortune, Myrtle Hardcastle's father, a lawyer, is asked to help prove - or disprove - the girl's identity. Is this truly Ethel Snowcroft, believed to be lost at sea with her parents, or a con artist chasing a windfall? Mr. Hardcastle's pursuit of the case takes a detour when he's hospitalized for a tonsillectomy - only to witness a murder. Or does he? With no body at the scene, Myrtle and her governess, Miss Judson, fear the so-called murder was a feverish delusion - until a critical piece of evidence appears.

But where's the victim? And who at the hospital could be harboring murderous intent? Myrtle is determined to find out before the killer comes after her father.

With stakes this high, her sleuthing has put Myrtle, her family, and the patients and staff at the Royal Swinburne Hospital In Myrtle Peril."

I can't get enough of precocious Victorian children sleuths!

Mystery in Provence by Vivian Conroy
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Kindle, 314 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Agatha Christie meets Julie Caplin in this exciting new series that whisks you away to the most gorgeous escapist destinations!

A beautiful French estate.
A wedding.
A murder.
And a novice detective intent on solving her first case!

Fresh from teaching at her prestigious Swiss boarding school, Miss Atalanta Ashford suddenly finds herself the most eligible young lady in society when she inherits her grandfather’s substantial fortune. But with this fortune, and an elegant new Parisian home, comes a legacy passed down from grandfather to granddaughter…sleuthing discreetly for Europe’s elite.

This young lady isn't one to back down from a challenge and Miss Ashford must depend on her sharp wit and charm to solve her first case, which takes her to the lush lavender fields of Provence and a wedding at the mansion of the Comte de Surmonne.

Now, as murder strikes twice, Atalanta will have to race to solve the case but will she be able to stop the blushing bride from facing a fatal 'I do?'"

Who doesn't want to be transported to a wonderful location for a thrilling murder mystery?

Murder After Christmas by Rupert Latimer
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
""A war's on and a murder has been committed - and we sit here talking nonsense about almond whirls and mince pies!"

Good old Uncle Willie - known for an insatiable sweet tooth and being an epic pain in the rear - has come to stay with the Redpaths for the holidays. As luck would have it, he's found dead in the snow, in a Santa suit on Boxing Day. It seems as though someone may have poisoned his chocolate...or was it the mince pie? As the police flock to the house, Willie's descendants, past lovers and distant relatives are drawn into a perplexing investigation to find out how the old man met his fate, and who stands to gain by such an unseasonable crime.

First published in 1944, Murder After Christmas is a lively riot of murder, holiday desserts, and misdirection, cleverly twisting the tropes of Golden Age detective fiction to create a pacey, light-hearted package admirably suited for the holiday season. Featuring an introduction by CWA Diamond Dagger Award-winning author and series editor Martin Edwards."

The TOP of my Christmas reading list this year!

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
Published by: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But how many will die before Twelfth Night?

Agatha Christie meets Clue in this delightful, tense manor house murder mystery.

The annual Christmas Game is afoot at Endgame House, the Armitages' grand family home. This year's prize is to die for - deeds to the house itself - but Lily Armitage has no intention of returning. She hasn't been back to Endgame since her mother died, twenty-one years ago, and she has no intention of claiming the house that haunts her dreams.

Until, that is, she receives a letter from her aunt promising that the game's riddles will give her the keys not only to Endgame, but to its darkest secrets, including the identity of her mother's murderer.

Now, Lily must compete with her estranged cousins for the twelve days of Christmas. The snow is thick, the phone lines are down, and no one is getting in or out. Lily will have to keep her wits about her, because not everyone is playing fair, and there's no telling how many will die before the winner is declared.

Including additional scavenger hunts for the reader, this clever murder mystery is the perfect gift for fans of classic mysteries, festive Christmas books, and armchair detective work."

Christmas plus Clue, color me sold!

A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo
Published by: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Last Night at the Telegraph Club author Malinda Lo returns to the Bay Area with another masterful queer coming-of-age story, this time set against the backdrop of the first major Supreme Court decisions legalizing gay marriage.

Aria Tang West was looking forward to a summer on Martha's Vineyard with her best friends - one last round of sand and sun before college. But after a graduation party goes wrong, Aria's parents exile her to California to stay with her grandmother, artist Joan West. Aria expects boredom, but what she finds is Steph Nichols, her grandmother's gardener. Soon, Aria is second-guessing who she is and what she wants to be, and a summer that once seemed lost becomes unforgettable - for Aria, her family, and the working-class queer community Steph introduces her to. It's the kind of summer that changes a life forever.

And almost sixty years after the end of Last Night at the Telegraph Club, A Scatter of Light also offers a glimpse into Lily and Kath's lives since 1955."

If you wanted more of Lily and Kath or if you just wanted more in this uplifting series, this book is for you.

Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 288 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"When her long-lost cousin comes back to town just in time for the holidays, Lila Macapagal knows that big trouble can't be far behind in this new mystery by Mia P. Manansala, author of Arsenic and Adobo.

It's Christmastime in Shady Palms, but things are far from jolly for Lila Macapagal. Sure, her new business, the Brew-ha Cafe, is looking to turn a profit in its first year. And yes, she's taken the first step in a new romance with her good friend Jae Park. But her cousin Ronnie is back in town after ghosting the family fifteen years ago, claiming that his recent purchase of a local winery shows that he's back on his feet and ready to contribute to the Shady Palms community. Tita Rosie is thrilled with the return of her prodigal son, but Lila knows that wherever Ronnie goes, trouble follows.

She's soon proven right when Ronnie is suspected of murder, and secrets surrounding her shady cousin and those involved with the winery start piling up. Now Lila has to put away years of resentment and distrust to prove her cousin's innocence. He may be a jerk, but he's still family. And there's no way her flesh and blood could actually be a murderer...right?"

Yet ANOTHER book on my holiday reading list this year.

Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne
Published by: Crown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The new homecoming queen is dead...and she's not the first unsolved murder at Seaview High. From the critically acclaimed author of The Ivies comes a nonstop YA thriller about a decades-old mystery, a copycat killer, and the teen who will stop at nothing to uncover the truth.

After the death of her mom (screw cancer), seventeen-year-old Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother, a celebrated author whose Victorian mansion is as creepy as the murder mysteries she writes. On the surface, life is utterly ordinary in the California coastal town...until the homecoming queen is murdered. And she's not Seaview’s first pretty dead queen.

With a copycat killer on the loose, Cecelia throws herself into the investigation, determined to crack the case like the heroines in her grandmother's books. But the more Cecelia digs into the town’s secrets, the more she worries that her own mystery might not have a storybook ending."

It's like Nancy Drew and V.C. Andrews and Jessica Fletcher had a baby!

The Family Home by Miranda Smith
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 292 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"There's a dead man in my apartment. Only me and my ex have a key. But neither of us would have done this. We have too much to lose...

I wake on the sofa, my head throbbing. How did I get here? In the darkness, I make my way to my bedroom. I turn on the lights. And then I scream.

There's a body in my bed. And I know this man: we went on two dates together. Who could have killed him? And how did he get in? Only two people have a key to the house: me and my ex-husband Matthew.

I trust Matthew. With what we're hiding, I have to. And I can't risk the police digging into our past, or learning about the night when we drank champagne on the cliff and ruined everything.

Someone knows our secret. We have to find out what they want. But am I wrong to believe Matthew, when I know how well he can lie? And how can I save myself, when the truth might destroy me?

An absolutely gripping thriller that will keep you reading late into the night, unable to put the book down for a second. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Ruth Ware and Lisa Jewell."

A twist on the locked room!

Jackal by Erin E. Adams
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first - and she may not be the last....

It's watching.

Liz Rocher is coming home...reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn't exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the day of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the couple's daughter, Caroline, disappears - and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood.

It's taking.

As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: A summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She's seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in Liz's high school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart removed. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can't be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town's history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls.

It's your turn.

With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness."

So spooky and yet so tragically believable that a town would right over the disappearances.

Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 464 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Amateur detective Mallory Viridian's talent for solving murders ruined her life on Earth and drove her to live on an alien space station, but her problems still follow her in this witty, self-aware novel that puts a speculative spin on murder mysteries, from the Hugo-nominated author of Six Wakes.

From idyllic small towns to claustrophobic urban landscapes, Mallory Viridian is constantly embroiled in murder cases that only she has the insight to solve. But outside of a classic mystery novel, being surrounded by death doesn't make you a charming amateur detective, it makes you a suspect and a social pariah. So when Mallory gets the opportunity to take refuge on a sentient space station, she thinks she has the solution. Surely the murders will stop if her only company is alien beings. At first her new existence is peacefully quiet…and markedly devoid of homicide.

But when the station agrees to allow additional human guests, Mallory knows the break from her peculiar reality is over. After the first Earth shuttle arrives, and aliens and humans alike begin to die, the station is thrown into peril. Stuck smack-dab in the middle of an extraterrestrial whodunit, and wondering how in the world this keeps happening to her anyway, Mallory has to solve the crime - and fast - or the list of victims could grow to include everyone on board...."

Everything about this book is so original, but the fact that the series is called "The Midsolar Murders" slays me!

What Song the Sirens Sang by Simon R. Green
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: October 4th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 192 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The tables are turned on legendary master thief Gideon Sable when a priceless magical artifact is stolen from him, in this fast-paced supernatural heist thriller.

You can find everything you've ever dreamed of in the strange, old magical shop known as Old Harry's Place. The problem is, not all dreams are kind.

Gideon Sable - legendary master thief, conman and well-dressed rogue - and his partner in crime Annie Anybody don't want to be shopkeepers, but when the enigmatic Harry decides to retire, he blackmails the pair into taking the store on.

Before the grand reopening can happen, however, a menacing stranger arrives - with a rare and deadly item for them to appraise. A small piece of rock, with an unnerving aura, which 'Smith' claims contains the last echoes of the legendary sirens' song. Before they can find out more, however, Smith vanishes...leaving only the stone.

Some valuables are more trouble than they're worth. But before Gideon and Annie can work out if they've been set up, the stone is stolen from its impregnable hiding place. How? And why? Gideon only knows one thing for certain: no one steals from him and gets away with it...

What Song the Sirens Sang is the third supernatural heist thriller featuring master conman Gideon Sable from British SFF veteran and New York Times bestselling author Simon R. Green, following The Best Thing You Can Steal and A Matter of Death and Life."

I love supernatural heists!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Alexandra Benedict, Camilla Bruce, Elizabeth C. Bunce, Erica Waters, Jane Johnson, Lady Emily, Malinda Lo, Megan Shepherd, Mia P. Manansala, Rupert Latimer, Simon R. Green, Tasha Alexander, Vivian Conroy

A Shakespearean ghost brought us the phrase "murder most foul." I'm sure, given that it was spoken in Hamlet, that Shakespeare knew the basic human drive to be enthralled and strive to solve an unnatural death. It's the crux of the play's forward momentum to that gory end. We, as humans, are drawn to puzzles and hunt for clues like they're candy. Murder mysteries can even be comforting. There's a whole subgenre just of cozy mysteries! There's nothing I like better than being transported away from reality by a book, and mysteries tend to transport me more than most because I'm not just enjoying the narrative, I'm trying to pick up all the clues, throw aside all the red herrings, and figure out whodunit before the author actually tells us. Yes, I like to be one step ahead at all times. Of course there are so many different types of whodunits that one could read nothing but mysteries and not even dent the genre. And yet, that doesn't stop us from trying. From devouring one murder after another like they were a big box of chocolates, which thankfully, in this instance, aren't out to poison us. So here's to the mystery genre, to all those murders most foul. Here's to kicking off the holiday season the right way, with a corpse or two.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Clues, Cozy Mystery, Genre, Hamlet, Murder, Murder Most Foul, Mysteries, Play, Poison, Red Herrings, Shakespeare, Subgenre, Unnatural Death, Whodunit

Of the classic detectives that have emerged in recent years P.D. James is responsible for creating two of them, Adam Dalgliesh and Cordelia Gray. Considering we've now had three shows spawned just from the character of Inspector Morse it's interesting to note that for most people Roy Marsden is the one and only Dalgliesh, despite the attempt in the early 2000s to get Martin Shaw to take on the mantel. From 1983 to 1998 Marsden was Dalgliesh. Which makes creating a new Dalgliesh an interesting task. It's been fifteen years since Dalgliesh was seen in any form on screen so it feels like the right time to bring him back. And if there was ever a time to remind people that Nazis are bad, it's now. At first I didn't know how I'd feel about this adaptation. Unlike Morse who is forever entwined with John Thaw, I don't think that the public as a whole, despite the two decades of work, felt as connected to Roy Marsden. Plus, as we've seen with the plethora of new Sherlock Holmes adaptations, people are willing to accept that Jeremy Brett isn't the only actor capable of playing the role. Though I did enjoy a new poll that said he was obviously the best. So we welcome Bertie Carvel to the screen as our new Dalgliesh in three two part adaptations from Acorn TV of the forth, fifth, and seventh books. Most people know Bertie Carvel from the juggernaut that was Doctor Foster, or from his Tony winning role as Miss Trunchbull, I of course know him as Jonathan Strange. So there was no doubt in my mind he had the credentials to play the part, but would I like him in the part? That took three episodes for me to decide. "Shroud for a Nightingale" and his investigation of the nurses was a little too typical police procedural, it was "The Black Tower" that let us see behind the facade of stalwart police officer to the man, the poet, beneath. To feel his grief and to see what makes him tick. That is when I connected with him. I want to applaud whomever chose these three Dalgliesh stories to adapt because you go on such a journey and really get to know him. First as the cop, second as the man, and finally as a cop whom you just can't help but admire for his humanity. With only six episodes I feel like I really know the character, and that is something some shows can't do in twenty-two episodes. But I'm greedy. I want more. In fact, I want all fourteen books adapted. Can I talk to someone who can make this happen?

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adam Dalgliesh, And the Emmy Goes To, Bertie Carvel, Cordelia Gray, Dalgliesh, Inspector Morse, John Thaw, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, Martin Shaw, Miss Trunchbull, Nazis, Roy Marsden, Sherlock Holmes

Who would have thought when Harlan Coben signed his five year multi-million dollar Netflix deal in 2018 it would bring about this interesting subgenre of transplanting his American stories onto British soil with beautiful house and cars you doubt any of the characters can actually afford and Richard Armitage always on hand. I for one am glad this came about. They are immanently bingeable and tie everything up so nice and neat at the end with a large helping of loss that they are perfectly suited to the times we find ourselves in. Not to mention the casting, oh dear lord, it's like someone stole a peak at my list of favorite actors and brought them all together for one project. Or that Richard Armitage is actually getting to show what a great actor he is. I feel so bad for some of the productions he's ended up in, yes, I'm looking at you Hobbit franchise! The miniseries follows Cassie, a stripper, who left that life behind seventeen years previously and is now about to get married to the father of her three children when she makes one little mistake and her past life bleeds into the present with a trail of bodies, often at the hands of a young couple who are musical theater buffs and whose "thing" is choreographed killing. It's riveting and absurd all at the same time. And while I was able to guess the real serial killer due to that old system of means, motive, opportunity, and casting, leaning heavily on the casting, the reveal is so magnificently acted that figuring out who the killer is in advance doesn't diminish the reveal. But what made me really love this production was Eddie Izzard. I have been a fan of Eddie since I first saw Dressed to Kill when it aired on HBO in the summer 1999, right after the David Bowie VH1 Legends episode aired that Eddie just happened to narrate. The following year was the first time I saw her on stage. I have seen Eddie on stage almost more times than I can count, and the most recent time in 2017 I actually got to meet her. Eddie as the drug addict lawyer Harry Sutton who helps anyone down on their luck was the linchpin of this series. Troubled yet wanting to do better, wanting to help. The dinner Harry has at Cassie's house with her family, for a moment it shows what Cassie's life could be with the past and the present as one. But more than that, I am very glad that someone on the production is obviously an Eddie Izzard fan and added a little something special to the set design. I mean, they HAD to name that pet shop Harry runs his law practice out of Hannibal's Animals after Eddie's bit about strapping two elephants to your feet and skying down the alps right? I mean, there's the other possibility that it's named after the TV series she and Richard Armitage both played killers on... But I like to think it's about the elephants.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Bingeing, Britain, Cush Jumbo, David Bowie, Dressed to Kill, Eddie Izzard, Harlan Coben, HBO, James Nesbitt, Netflix, Richard Armitage, Sarah Parish, Serial Killer, Stay Close, The Hobbit

Terry Pratchett by Rob Wilkins
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"'People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around.'

Terry Pratchett, creator of the phenomenally bestselling Discworld series, knight of the realm, and holder of more honorary doctorates than he knew what to do with, was known and loved around the world for his wildly popular books, his brilliant satirical humor, and for the humanity of his campaign work. But that's only part of the picture.

At the time of his death in 2015, he was working on his finest story yet - his own. The story of a boy who was told by his headteacher aged six that he would never amount to anything, and spent the rest of his life proving him wrong. Who walked out on his A levels to become a journalist, encountering some very dead bodies and the idea for his first novel before he reached twenty. Who celebrated his knighthood by smelting himself a sword, and who, on being awarded the prestigious Carnegie Medal, switched it during the prizegiving for a chocolate replica and proceeded to eat it in front of an audience of horrified librarians.

Tragically, Terry ran out of time to complete the memoir he so desperately wanted to write. But now, in the only authorized biography of one of our best known and best loved writers, his manager and friend Rob Wilkins picks up where Terry left off, and with the help of friends, family, and Terry's own unpublished work, tells the full story of an extraordinary life."

Back in 2011 when I was lucky enough to attend the North American Discworld Convention Terry and Rob read some selections from Terry biography. And when Terry died four years later I thought that that was a book I would never get to read. Thankfully I was wrong. Here's to Rob!

Murder at the Serpentine Bridge by Andrea Penrose
Published by: Kensington
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"USA Today bestselling author Andrea Penrose's atmospheric mystery series sends newlywed sleuths, Lady Charlotte and the Earl of Wrexford, beyond the glittering ballrooms and salons of Regency London and through a web of international intrigue to save loved ones from harm...

Charlotte, now the Countess of Wrexford, would like nothing more than a summer of peace and quiet with her new husband and their unconventional family and friends. Still, some social obligations must be honored, especially with the grand Peace Celebrations unfolding throughout London to honor victory over Napoleon.

But when Wrexford and their two young wards, Raven and Hawk, discover a body floating in Hyde Park's famous lake, that newfound peace looks to be at risk. The late Jeremiah Willis was the engineering genius behind a new design for a top-secret weapon, and the prototype is missing from the Royal Armory’s laboratory. Wrexford is tasked with retrieving it before it falls into the wrong hands. But there are unsettling complications to the case - including a family connection.

Soon, old secrets are tangling with new betrayals, and as Charlotte and Wrexford spin through a web of international intrigue and sumptuous parties, they must race against time to save their loved ones from harm - and keep the weapon from igniting a new war..."

I spent the summer reading Andrea Penrose's Regency set Lady Arianna mysteries and am bereft I have no more to read at the moment. Thankfully she's written more than one Regency set series! And Basil's in both of them!

A Gentlewoman's Guide to Murder by Victoria Hamilton
Published by: Beyond the Page Publishing
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 268 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Scandal and slayings among Regency London's elite... Refusing to stand by while the wealthy men of London prey on their powerless scullery maids and other young women, Miss Emmeline St. Germaine has made it her mission to rescue the victims and threaten the men at dagger-point to cease their depravities. But mere hours after she pays just such a visit to a prominent knight, he's found murdered and all of London is aghast. Did the man-or woman-who murdered the knight know of her visit? Facing scandal and the ruination of her family, Emmeline must solve the crime before she and her work are exposed. But there are powerful forces at work to silence her-or worse, lead her to the hangman's noose for a crime she did not commit..."

Because who doesn't like a lady dealing out some back alley justice?

The Butcher by Laura Kat Young
Published by: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A suspenseful small-town horror novel of oppression, heartbreak and buried anguish - Shirley Jackson meets Never Let Me Go with the wild west setting of Westworld.

When Lady Mae turns 18, she'll inherit her mother's job as the Butcher: dismembering Settlement Five's guilty residents as payment for their petty crimes. An index finger taken for spreading salacious gossip, a foot for blasphemy, no one is exempt from punishment.

But one day Winona refuses to butcher a six-year-old boy. So their leaders, known as the Deputies, come to Lady Mae's house, and, right there in the living room, murder her mother for refusing her duties.

Within twenty-four hours, now alone in the world, Lady Mae begins her new job. But a chance meeting years later puts her face to face with the Deputy that murdered her mother. Now Lady Mae must choose: will she flee, and start another life in the desolate mountains, forever running? Or will she seek vengeance for her mother's death even if it kills her?

A devastating, alarming page-turner infused with melancholy, humanity - and society's maddening acceptance in the face of horror."

I totally am maddened by society's acceptance of horrors, which is why this book calls to me. Along with the fact that Shirley Jackson AND Westworld were namechecked.

The Empress by Gigi Griffis
Published by: Zando
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Coming soon to Netflix, The Empress is a captivating, vivid and remarkably modern tale about falling in love and finding one's voice. The year is 1853, and Princess Elisabeth "Sisi" of Bavaria has been very clear: She will wait for the head-over-heels love the poets speak of, or she will have no love at all. Just because her older sister, Helene, is eagerly heeding their mother's advice and preparing to marry Emperor Franz of Austria does not mean Sisi must also subject herself to such a dutiful existence. Sisi knows there is more to life than luncheons and corsets - if only someone would let her experience it all firsthand. Meanwhile, in Austria, the emperor is recovering from an assassination attempt that left him wounded and scared. In a bid to keep the peace, Franz has recommitted himself to his imperial duties - and promised to romance the pliant Helene of Bavaria at his upcoming birthday celebration. How better to unite the empire than with the announcement of a new empress? But when Sisi and Franz meet unexpectedly in the palace gardens, away from the prying eyes and relentless critique of the court, their connection cannot be denied. And as their illicit conversations turn into something more, they must soon choose between the expectations of their families and standing up for what they truly believe in..."

I have always been intrigued by Sisi, and now to have a Netflix show? Hold me back!

The Deception by Kim Taylor Blakemore
Published by: Lake Union Publishing
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 348 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A sleight of hand. A trick up the sleeve. A call for the dead. It's all part of the game in this twisty tale by the bestselling author of After Alice Fell.

New Hampshire, 1877. Maud Price was once a celebrated child medium, a true believer in lifting the veil between the living and the dead. Now penniless, her guiding spirits gone, the so-called "Maid of Light" is desperate to regain her reputation - but doing so means putting her faith in deceiving others.

Clementine Watkins, known in spiritualist circles for her bag of tricks and utmost discretion, creates the sort of theatrics that can fill Maud's parlor again, and with each misdirection, Maud's fame is restored. But her guilt is a heavy burden. And the ruse has become a risk. Others are plotting to expose the fraud, and Clem can't allow anyone - even Maud - to jeopardize the fortune the hoax has made her.

When the deception hints at a possible murder, Maud realizes how dangerous a game she's playing. But to return to the light from which she's strayed, she must first survive the darkness created by Clem's smoke and mirrors."

I am ALL ABOUT MEDIUMS! Fake, real, mediums are my jam!

A Haunted Histor of Invisible Women by Leanna Renee Hieber and Andrea James
Published by: Citadel
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From the notorious Lizzie Borden to the innumerable, haunted rooms of Sarah Winchester's mysterious mansion, this offbeat, insightful, first-ever book of its kind explores the history behind America's female ghosts, the stereotypes, myths, and paranormal tales that swirl around them, what their stories reveal about us - and why they haunt us...

Sorrowful widows, vengeful jezebels, innocent maidens, wronged lovers, former slaves, even the occasional axe-murderess - America's female ghosts differ widely in background, class, and circumstance. Yet one thing unites them: their ability to instill fascination and fear, long after their deaths. Here are the full stories behind some of the best-known among them, as well as the lesser-known - though no less powerful.

Tales whispered in darkness often divulge more about the teller than the subject. America's most famous female ghosts, from from 'Mrs. Spencer' who haunted Joan Rivers' New York apartment to Bridget Bishop, the first person executed during the Salem witchcraft trials, mirror each era's fears and prejudices. Yet through urban legends and campfire stories, even ghosts like the nameless hard-working women lost in the infamous Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire - achieve a measure of power and agency in death, in ways unavailable to them as living women.

Riveting for skeptics and believers alike, with humor, curiosity, and expertise, A Haunted History of Invisible Women offers a unique lens on the significant role these ghostly legends play both within the spook-seeking corners of our minds and in the consciousness of a nation."

I love how women's history is being reclaimed everywhere, even in the supernatural.

Shrines of Gaiety by Kate Atkinson
Published by: Doubleday
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The #1 national bestselling, award-winning author of Life after Life transports us to a restless London in the wake of the Great War - a city fizzing with money, glamour, and corruption - in this spellbinding tale of seduction and betrayal.

1926, and in a country still recovering from the Great War, London has become the focus for a delirious new nightlife. In the clubs of Soho, peers of the realm rub shoulders with starlets, foreign dignitaries with gangsters, and girls sell dances for a shilling a time.

The notorious queen of this glittering world is Nellie Coker, ruthless but also ambitious to advance her six children, including the enigmatic eldest, Niven, whose character has been forged in the crucible of the Somme. But success breeds enemies, and Nellie's empire faces threats from without and within. For beneath the dazzle of Soho's gaiety, there is a dark underbelly, a world in which it is all too easy to become lost.

With her unique Dickensian flair, Kate Atkinson gives us a window in a vanished world. Slyly funny, brilliantly observant, and ingeniously plotted, Shrines of Gaiety showcases the myriad talents that have made Atkinson one of the most lauded writers of our time."

1920s London is everything to me.

6 Ripley Avenue by Noelle Holten
Published by: One More Chapter
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Kindle, 378 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"One House
Eight Killers
No Witnesses

Jeanette is the manager of a probation hostel that houses high risk offenders released on license.

At 3AM one morning, she receives a call telling her a resident has been murdered.

Her whole team, along with the eight convicted murderers, are now all suspects in a crime no one saw committed...

Don't miss the first nerve-shredding standalone thriller from Noelle Holten, author of the Maggie Jamieson series."

Locked room wherein everyone literally could have done it.

Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
Published by: Delacorte Press
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young comes a deeply atmospheric story about ancestral magic, an unsolved murder, and a second chance at true love.

Emery Blackwood's life changed forever the night her best friend was found dead and the love of her life, August Salt, was accused of murdering her. Years later, she is doing what her teenage self swore she never would: living a quiet existence on the misty, remote shores of Saoirse Island and running the family's business, Blackwood's Tea Shoppe Herbal Tonics and Tea Leaf Readings. But when the island, rooted in folklore and magic, begins to show signs of strange happenings, Emery knows that something is coming. The morning she wakes to find that every single tree on Saoirse has turned color in a single night, August returns for the first time in fourteen years and unearths the past that the town has tried desperately to forget.

August knows he is not welcome on Saiorse, not after the night everything changed. As a fire raged on at the Salt family orchard, Lily Morgan was found dead in the dark woods, shaking the bedrock of their tight-knit community and branding August a murderer. When he returns to bury his mother's ashes, he must confront the people who turned their backs on him and face the one wound from his past that has never healed - Emery. But the town has more than one reason to want August gone, and the emergence of deep betrayals and hidden promises spanning generations threaten to reveal the truth behind Lily's mysterious death once and for all."

Murder and magic? Oh yes please!

One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Published by: Orbit
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"For fans of Uprooted and For the Wolf comes a dark, lushly Gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom - but the monster in her head isn't the only threat lurking.

Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.

Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home - she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets.

But nothing comes for free, especially magic.

When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King's own nephew, Captain of the Destriers...and guilty of high treason.

He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards - the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him."

You know, dark Gothic fantasy might be my most favorite genre, especially because it covers such a range of subgenres.

Forestfall by Lyndall Clipston
Published by: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 400 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"At the lake's edge, I made my promise. In the forest, I will fall.

The curse that haunted Lakesedge Estate has been broken, but at great cost. Violeta Graceling has sacrificed herself to end the Corruption.

To escape death, Leta makes a desperate bargain with the Lord Under, one that sees her living at his side in the land of the dead. And though he claims to have given her all he promised, Leta knows this world of souls and mists hides many secrets.

When she discovers she is still bound to Rowan, Leta goes to drastic lengths to reforge their connection. But her search for answers, and a path back home, will see her drawn into even more dangerous bargains, and struggling to resist the allure of a new, dark, power in Forestfall by Lyndall Clipstone."

Buy this book in spite of the horrid cover.

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 416 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Saving the world is a test no school of magic can prepare you for in the triumphant conclusion to the New York Times bestselling trilogy that began with A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate.

The one thing you never talk about while you're in the Scholomance is what you'll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it's all we dream about: the hideously slim chance we'll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I'm out, we're all out - and I didn't even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother's prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn't kill enclavers, I saved them. Me and Orion and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: We saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves everywhere.

Ha, only joking! Actually, it's gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war. And the first thing I've got to do now, having miraculously gotten out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in."

While I love big long epic series it's also nice when they're contained and you can, you know, read them to to end instead sitting stewing about a book that will never be released...

Big Bad by Lily Anderson
Published by: Hyperion Avenue
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 320 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Suicide Squad in this adult dark, rompy novel in which the most beloved villains from Buffy must team up to stop the Slayer from ending their evil universe!

Demondale, Callifornia, 1999...Like Sunnydale, but whole lot more evil.

Step into this alternate reality, where chaos reigns supreme. The Mayor's sun-shade has created permanent darkness over Sunnydale, fully opening the Hellmouth once and for all. Now the newly christened Demondale has become a safe haven for vampires, beasts, and all types of ruffians. It's never been better to be bad.

Aspiring supervillains (and super nerds) Jonathan and Andrew attempt to hold their own in a town full of monsters, while eleven-hundred-year-old vengeance demon Anya is just looking for something to give her life purpose again, spending her days working at an evil juice bar. But soon word gets out that there's a new Big Bad on the scene, one more powerful and more destructive than anyone who has come before. She, of course, is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And she's hell-bent on rooting out all of this reality's evil by any means necessary.

Now Jonathan, Andrew, and Anya must recruit a team of Demondale's most notorious villains - including Angelus, Spike, Drusilla, and even Ripper the malevolent magic shop owner - in order to save their world. But it'll be no easy feat to put their pride and differences aside and stop the worst thing that has ever come to town: good.

Written by acclaimed author and Buffy super fan Lily Anderson, this novel brings together Buffy's most devious and beloved villains from the Trio to the Whirlwind to Anya, Glory, and Vampire Willow. This is one apocalypse Buffy fans are not going to want to miss!"

You say Trio, but do I see any mention of Warren in the blurb? Do I!?!

Simply Vegan Baking by Freya Cox
Published by: Harper Design
Publication Date: September 27th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 176 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From The Great British Baking Show contestant Freya Cox, an inviting introduction to vegan baking, filled with dozens of showstopping recipes for scrumptious treats.

Going vegan doesn't mean having to give up the wonderful baked goods you love. You can create traditional favorites - delicious breads, cakes, pastries, desserts, and more - without using eggs, butter, cream, and other animal products. Simply Vegan Baking is your invitation to the diverse world of vegan baking and Freya Cox - the youngest and first ever vegan contestant to appear on the Netflix hit The Great British Baking Show - is your guide. Recipe by recipe, she shows just how easy and tasty it is to adapt to vegan baking. Here are 70 recipes for both longtime favorites and classics with a twist that will please the most demanding sweet-tooth, including:

Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Blueberry Muffins
Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes
Cinnamon Rolls
Stollen
Peanut Butter Millionaires’ Shortbread
Banoffee Pie Slices
Chocolate Orange Tart
Lemon Meringue Pie
Iced Sugar Cookies
Fruit Scones

In addition, she provides wonderful desserts for parties and get-togethers that are sure to impress, including Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Tiramisu. And there are fantastic fillings and icings like Lemon Curd, American and Swiss Meringue Buttercreams, and various fruit jams. All use ingredients found in local supermarkets, and come with full-color food and instruction shots, step-by-step directions, and tips for perfect vegan bakes.

Whether it's a treat for afterschool or a coffee break or a celebratory dessert for a special occasion, Simply Vegan Baking allows you to fulfill your sweet cravings - and feel good with every delicious bite."

If you didn't fall for Freya last season on GBBO you have no heart!

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Adrienne Young, Andrea Penrose, Buffy, Gigi Griffis, Kate Atkinson, Kim Taylor Blakemore, Laura Kat Young, Leanna Renee Hieber, Lyndall Clipston, Noelle Holten, Rachel Gillig, Terry Pratchett, Victoria Hamilton

Now while I am a big comic book fan I'm not really into the MCU. There are characters I like and characters I could do without. And I'm here with open arms for the X-Men. Just be nothing like the movies that have come before. Though Hugh Jackman is welcome back anytime. And I have a shocking confession, I have never watched nor plan to watch Avengers: Endgame. Which is problematic on many levels because that movie is so important to the building of Marvel's multiverse and the roll out of whatever phase we are now in. We're in Phase Four right? Right? So the truth of the matter is that the more entwined the universe is becoming the less likely I am to engage with it. The only movie I am actually looking forward to is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3... Kind of. I have Chris Pratt issues, as we all should. But there is one show I COULD NOT miss, and that was Moon Knight. Why? Well, Egypt and Oscar Isaac! I adore all things to do with Egyptian mythology and I adore Oscar Isaac, so this show was a no-brainer. I had to watch it. But here was the most amazing and welcome discovery when I started watching it, it stands alone. You don't need to be versed in the MCU lore, you don't need any other experience with anything Marvel. It stands completely on it's own and is marvelous. Everything you need to know about the world is given to you in a way that fully explains it without it feeling too much like exposition or like it's talking down to you. In fact, my father who sometimes has a hard time following the more fantastical shows I watch understood and loved this show. The world is wonderfully complete and is believable. Egyptian Gods have avatars who act on their behalf and Oscar Isaac and his three personalities act on behalf of Khonshu. That's it. Throw in another human who wants to be the avatar for a rather problematic God and you have the conflict for the series. But the real conflict is two of Oscar Isaac's personalities. The main personality, Marc Spector, developed another identity to protect himself from childhood abuse at the hand of his mother. The Steven Grant personality is Oscar at his most dorky, a lovely British mama's boy who is very much Oscar channeling some serious Bruce Campbell awkward Ash Williams energy. As one review said, the chemistry between Oscar Isaac and Oscar Isaac is amazing. If he doesn't win an Emmy for this he was robbed. And are we in an Ethan Hawke Renaissance? Because his role as Harrow was again perfection. I literally can't think of another actor who could have had the presence to match Oscar, but Ethan does it perfectly. In fact, this is a near perfect series, even the music. Oh, I hope we get more, but if this is all, it was done so so right.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Ash Williams, Chris Pratt, Egypt, Ethan Hawke, Guardians of the Galaxy, Hugh Jackman, Khonshu, Marc Spector, Marvel, MCU, Moon Knight, Oscar Isaac, Steven Grant, The Evil Dead, X-Men

There are only a handful of book series that have forever become a part of my DNA. The Theodosia Throckmorton books by R.L. LaFevers is one of them. I never in a million years thought that this would be adapted into a show. It seemed just too niche. A girl who can see Egyptian curses and fights the forces of darkness from a museum where she sleeps in a sarcophagus in a closet? Well jump forward to 2020 and Enola Holmes making a big splash on Netflix and everyone going, what else is similar!?! Well, age Theo up a bit, add in her own Baker Street Irregulars, and you might, just might, have a hit on your hands. Now this isn't a faithful adaptation, but it is a fun adaptation. You can't help smiling as you watch the show and while I love the books and the show for what they are to me as an adult, if they had both existed when I was younger, I would have been the biggest fangirl they would have ever seen! And I can't help but think the creators of the show are about my age and felt the same way. Why you ask? Because this show has a very nineties Nickelodeon vibe. The opening credits alone give off a nineties video game vibe which is carried through with the music. Theodosia could have been made in the late nineties or early two thousands, if they had better special effects. It's like they took Sabrina the Teenage Witch and threw in some period costumes from The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and it made me want to switch up my wardrobe and wear lots more sweaters. Theo's bedroom gave me Clarissa Explains It All room envy all over again. In other words, I think Eloise Little might just be the new Melissa Joan Hart! And the exploration angle means it can't help but be compared to the recent production of Around the World in 80 Days. And this show comes off way better. They use practical effects when able and don't talk down to you. Literally the production is top notch. I feel like I'm just listing things that it's like, but what Theodosia is is a whole bunch of nostalgic shows mashed together into something new and fun. But for the book nerd in me it's the little details that I loved. Theo putting on gloves to touch cursed artifacts, her use of carnelian to help protect against curses, her actually sleeping in a sarcophagus. All these little details that just add to the world of the show and made this fangirl of the books so happy. Because it felt like the creators of the show got it. They knew what was important and they knew how to adapt it and I just hope I get more episodes or that this will spark enough excitement about the original series like what happened with Enola Holmes so that we finally get a fifth book.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: And the Emmy Goes To, Clarissa Explains It All, DNA, Egypt, Enola Holmes, Nickelodeon, Nostalgia, R.L. LaFevers, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, Theodosia, Theodosia Throckmorton

The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
Published by: Pamela Dorman Books
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman.

It is an ordinary Thursday, and things should finally be returning to normal.

Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case - their favorite kind - leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.

Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill or be killed. Suddenly the cold case has become red hot.

While Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience (and a gun), Joyce, Ron, and Ibrahim chase down the clues with help from old friends and new. But can the gang solve the mystery and save Elizabeth before the murderer strikes again?

From an upmarket spa to a prison cell complete with espresso machine to a luxury penthouse high in the sky, this third adventure of the Thursday Murder Club is full of the cleverness, intrigue, and irresistible charm that readers have come to expect from Richard Osman's bestselling series."

You've all got the note that September is now Thursday Murder Club release month right?

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy by Susan Elia MacNeal
Published by: Bantam
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A mother and daughter find the courage to go undercover after stumbling upon a Nazi cell in Los Angeles during the early days of World War II - a tantalizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of the Maggie Hope series.

June 1940. France has fallen to the Nazis, and Britain may be next - but to many Americans, the war is something happening "over there." Veronica Grace has just graduated from college; she and her mother, Violet, are looking for a fresh start in sunny Los Angeles. After a blunder cost her a prestigious career opportunity in New York, Veronica is relieved to take a typing job in L.A. - only to realize that she's working for one of the area's most vicious propagandists.

Overnight, Veronica is exposed to the dark underbelly of her new home, where German Nazis are recruiting Americans for their devastating campaign. After the FBI dismisses the Graces' concerns, Veronica and Violet decide to call on an old friend, who introduces them to L.A.'s anti-Nazi spymaster.

At once, the women go undercover to gather enough information about the California Reich to take to the authorities. But as the news of Pearl Harbor ripples through the United States, and President Roosevelt declares war, the Grace women realize that the plots they're investigating are far more sinister than they feared - and even a single misstep could cost them everything.

Inspired by the real mother-daughter spy duo who foiled Nazi plots in Los Angeles during WWII, Mother Daughter Traitor Spy is a powerful portrait of family, duty, and deception that raises timeless questions about America - and what it means to have courage in the face of terror."

I'm am more than a little intrigued by what that Nazis were up to in L.A. because history just doesn't talk about it that much and yet it happened.

Death Among the Diamonds by Fliss Chester
Published by: Bookouture
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 196 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Everyone in 1920s London knows the Honourable Cressida Fawcett: fiercely independent (though never apart from her little pug Ruby), lover of martinis and interior designer extraordinaire. She's solved many crimes of fashion...so how about murder?

Cressida Fawcett is heading to the English countryside for a weekend of cocktails and partying at her friend's glamorous mansion, the location of a recent diamond heist. But just hours after her arrival, Cressida is woken by an almighty scream. Rushing to the landing, she looks down into the great hall to find a trembling maid standing next to the body of Harry, the friendly young chandelier cleaner.

Everyone believes Harry's death was an accident. But as Cressida examines the opulent hall and the beautiful grounds, she thinks something darker is afoot. Why clean a chandelier in the early hours of the morning? And who overheard Harry boasting about coming into unexpected wealth? A small piece of torn silk found near the body has Cressida looking at the guests' elegant clothes with fresh eyes...

The short-tempered detective insists that she keeps her curious nose out of the investigation, but it's Cressida who realises the stolen diamonds were hidden in the sparkling chandelier. Convinced there is a connection between the theft and the murder, the case takes a sinister turn when a guest is killed in his sleep after a brandy-fueled night of cards. With everyone unable to leave, can Cressida's sharp eye for detail catch the killer before another life is taken?

An absolutely gripping and utterly charming 1920s murder mystery packed with wit, glamour and intrigue. The perfect whodunnit for fans of Agatha Christie, T.E. Kinsey and Downton Abbey."

Because I can never have enough 1920s British mysteries. NEVER!

The Girl in the Castle by James Patterson and Emily Raymond
Published by: jimmy patterson
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 368 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Beloved #1 bestselling author James Patterson delivers a thrilling novel about a teen caught between two worlds and the truths that could set her free - or trap her forever.

My name is Hannah Dory and I need you to believe me.

NOW: Hannah Doe is brought to Belman Psych, kicking and screaming, told she is suffering from hallucinations and delusions.

1347: Hannah Dory and her village are starving to death in a brutal winter. Hannah seeks out food and salvation in the baron's castle. If she is caught stealing, she will surely hang.

NOW: Hannah knows the truth: she is Hannah Doe and Hannah Dory, and she must return to the past before it's too late to save her sister. Can Jordan, the Abnormal-Psych student who seems to truly care, be the one to finally help her?

Jordan isn't sure what to believe, and Hannah has even bigger problems: if she doesn't make it back, her sister will die, but if she keeps going back, she might never escape."

James Patterson doing the timeslip!

O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker
Published by: Scribner
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 208 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In the tradition of Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle, a darkly humorous modern classic of Scottish literature about a doomed adolescent growing up in the mid-19th century - featuring a new introduction by Maggie O'Farrell, award-winning author of Hamnet.

Janet lies murdered beneath the castle stairs, attired in her mother's black lace wedding dress, lamented only by her pet jackdaw...

​Author Elspeth Barker masterfully evokes the harsh climate of Scotland in this atmospheric Gothic tale that has been compared to the works of the Brontës, Edgar Allan Poe, and Edward Gorey. Immersed in a world of isolation and loneliness, Barker's ill-fated young heroine Janet turns to literature, nature, and her Aunt Lila, who offers brief flashes of respite in an otherwise foreboding life. People, birds, and beasts move through the background in a tale that is as rich and atmospheric as it is witty and mordant. The family's motto - Moriens sed Invictus (Dying but Unconquered) - is a well-suited epitaph for wild and courageous Janet, whose fierce determination to remain steadfastly herself makes her one of the most unforgettable protagonists in contemporary literature."

I will read anything vaguely like Shirley Jackson, throw in Gothic Scotland and I'm really sold.

The Last Dreamwalker by Rita Woods
Published by: Forge Books
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"From Hurston/Wright Legacy Award-winning author Rita Woods, The Last Dreamwalker tells the story of two women, separated by nearly two centuries yet inextricably linked by the Gullah-Geechee Islands off the coast of South Carolina - and their connection to a mysterious and extraordinary gift passed from generation to generation.

In the wake of her mother's passing, Layla Hurley unexpectedly reconnects with her mother's sisters, women she hasn't been allowed to speak to, or of, in years.

Her aunts reveal to Layla that a Gullah-Geechee island off the shore of South Carolina now belongs to her. As Layla digs deeper into her mother's past and the mysterious island's history, she discovers that the terrifying nightmares that have plagued her throughout her life and tainted her relationship with her mother and all of her family, is actually a power passed down through generations of her Gullah ancestors. She is a Dreamwalker, able to inhabit the dreams of others - and to manipulate them.

As Layla uncovers increasingly dark secrets about her family's past, she finds herself thrust into the center of a potentially deadly, decades-old feud fought in the dark corridor of dreams.

The Last Dreamwalker is a gripping, contemporary read about power and agency; family and legacy; and the ways trauma, secrets, and magic take shape across generations."

A little Southern magic.

Because I Could Not Stop For Death by Amanda Flower
Published by: Berkley
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Emily Dickinson and her housemaid, Willa Noble, realize there is nothing poetic about murder in this first book in an all-new series from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Amanda Flower.

January 1855 Willa Noble knew it was bad luck when it was pouring rain on the day of her ever-important job interview at the Dickinson home in Amherst, Massachusetts. When she arrived late, disheveled with her skirts sodden and filthy, she'd lost all hope of being hired for the position. As the housekeeper politely told her they'd be in touch, Willa started toward the door of the stately home only to be called back by the soft but strong voice of Emily Dickinson. What begins as tenuous employment turns to friendship as the reclusive poet takes Willa under her wing.

Tragedy soon strikes and Willa's beloved brother, Henry, is killed in a tragic accident at the town stables. With no other family and nowhere else to turn, Willa tells Emily about her brother's death and why she believes it was no accident. Willa is convinced it was murder. Henry had been very secretive of late, only hinting to Willa that he'd found a way to earn money to take care of them both. Viewing it first as a puzzle to piece together, Emily offers to help, only to realize that she and Willa are caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse that reveals corruption in Amherst that is generations deep. Some very high-powered people will stop at nothing to keep their profitable secrets even if that means forever silencing Willa and her new mistress...."

It was only a matter of time until Emily Dickinson started solving crime...

The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore
Published by: Ace
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"In this stunning debut novel, the maligned and immortal witch of legend known as Baba Yaga will risk all to save her country and her people from Tsar Ivan the Terrible - and the dangerous gods who seek to drive the twisted hearts of men.

As a half-goddess possessing magic, Yaga is used to living on her own, her prior entanglements with mortals having led to heartbreak. She mostly keeps to her hut in the woods, where those in need of healing seek her out, even as they spread rumors about her supposed cruelty and wicked spells. But when her old friend Anastasia - now the wife of the tsar, and suffering from a mysterious illness - arrives in her forest desperate for her protection, Yaga realizes the fate of all of Russia is tied to Anastasia's. Yaga must step out of the shadows to protect the land she loves.

As she travels to Moscow, Yaga witnesses a sixteenth century Russia on the brink of chaos. Tsar Ivan - soon to become Ivan the Terrible - grows more volatile and tyrannical by the day, and Yaga believes the tsaritsa is being poisoned by an unknown enemy. But what Yaga cannot know is that Ivan is being manipulated by powers far older and more fearsome than anyone can imagine.

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore weaves a rich tapestry of mythology and Russian history, reclaiming and reinventing the infamous Baba Yaga, and bringing to life a vibrant and tumultuous Russia, where old gods and new tyrants vie for power. This fierce and compelling novel draws from the timeless lore to create a heroine for the modern day, fighting to save her country and those she loves from oppression while also finding her true purpose as a goddess, a witch, and a woman."

I am obsessed with Tsarists Russia, add in my fascination with Baba Yaga, and this book is for me.

Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland
Published by: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"The author of the visionary New York Times bestseller Dread Nation returns with another spellbinding historical fantasy set at the crossroads of race and power in America.

It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided - between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology - otherwise known as Mechomancy - not the traditional mystical arts.

Laura disagrees. A talented young queer mage from Pennsylvania, Laura hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage’s license and becoming something more than a rootworker.

But four months later, she's got little to show for it other than an empty pocket and broken dreams. With nowhere else to turn, Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane's Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy can thrive. There she meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past, who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice.

As they're sent off on their first mission together into the heart of the country's oldest and most mysterious Blight, they discover the work of mages not encountered since the darkest period in America's past, when Black mages were killed for their power - work that could threaten Laura's and the Skylark's lives, and everything they've worked for."

The idea that even certain kinds of magic can become obsolete through automation and the industrial revolution is just facet of this book that is fascinating to me.

In the Coils of the Labyrinth by David Annandale
Published by: Aconyte
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Paperback, 352 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"An unnatural terror penetrating our reality preys on the dreams of its victims, in this darkly captivating novel set in the world of Arkham Horror.

Professor Miranda Ventham is having bad dreams - nothing new in 1920s Arkham - but hers are horrifying glimpses of a dark future. Now seriously ill, she books herself into the new sanatorium, Stroud Institute. With luck, the town's eldritch taint won't reach her there. And yet the nightmares worsen. With the aid of her friend, parapsychologist Agatha Crane, they delve into the background of the sanatorium's enigmatic director, Donovan Stroud. Plagued by doubts, delusions, and terrifying visions, Miranda must unravel the shrouded history of the Strouds before she is trapped in a labyrinthine nightmare. Something sinister lurks at its heart, and it longs to be set free."

Would you want to go into a sanatorium in Arkham? Hell no. Which is why it's so fun to read about it.

Daphne by Josh Malerman
Published by: Del Rey
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Horror has a new name: Daphne. A brutal, enigmatic woman stalks a high school basketball team in a reimagining of the slasher genre by the New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box.

It’s the last summer for Kit Lamb: The last summer before college. The last summer with her high school basketball team, and with Dana, her best friend. The last summer before her life begins.

But the night before the big game, one of the players tells a ghost story about Daphne, a girl who went to their school many years ago and died under mysterious circumstances. Some say she was murdered, others that she died by her own hand. And some say that Daphne is a murderer herself. They also say that Daphne is still out there, obsessed with revenge, and will appear to kill again anytime someone thinks about her.

After Kit hears the story, her teammates vanish, one by one, and Kit begins to suspect that the stories about Daphne are real...and to fear that her own mind is conjuring the killer. Now it's a race against time as Kit searches for the truth behind the legend and learns to face her own fears - before the summer of her lifetime becomes the last summer of her life.

Mixing a nostalgic coming-of-age story and an instantly iconic female villain with an innovative new vision of classic horror, Daphne is an unforgettable thriller as only Josh Malerman could imagine it."

This is Stephen King level horror here.

The Collectors by Philip Pullman
Published by: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 80 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A chilling Gothic tale with a revealing glimpse of the iconic Mrs. Coulter - one of Philip Pullman's most enigmatic characters. This companion story to His Dark Materials is now in print for the first time in a beautiful gift edition.

In this darkly delicious tale, internationally acclaimed author Philip Pullman invites readers to meet the mysterious girl who will one day become the sinister Mrs. Coulter.

On a cold winter's night, two art collectors are settled before a fire in the senior common room of a college in Oxford, discussing two new unusual pieces - a portrait of a striking young woman and a bronze sculpture of a fearsome monkey. How could they imagine that they are about to be caught in the cross-fire of a story that has traveled across time and worlds...."

I'm curious how they turned a 24 page e-book into an 80 page "gift edition..."

The Old Place by Bobby Finger
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 336 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"A bighearted and moving debut about a wry retired schoolteacher whose decade-old secret threatens to come to light and send shockwaves through her small Texas town.

Billington, Texas, is a place where nothing changes. Well, almost nothing. For the first time in nearly four decades, Mary Alice Roth is not getting ready for the first day of school at Billington High. A few months into her retirement - or, district mandated exile as she calls it - Mary Alice does not know how to fill her days. The annual picnic is coming up, but that isn't nearly enough since the menu never changes and she had the roles mentally assigned weeks ago. At least there's Ellie, who stops by each morning for coffee and whose reemergence in Mary Alice's life is the one thing soothing the sting of retirement.

Mary Alice and Ellie were a pair since the day Ellie moved in next door. That they both were single mothers - Mary Alice widowed, Ellie divorced - with sons the same age was a pleasant coincidence, but they were forever linked when they lost the boys, one right after the other. Years later, the two are working their way back to a comfortable friendship. But when Mary Alice's sister arrives on her doorstep with a staggering piece of news, it jeopardizes the careful shell she's built around her life. The whole of her friendship with Ellie is put at risk, the fabric of a place as steadfast as Billington is questioned, and the unflappable, knotty fixture that is Mary Alice Roth might have to change after all."

You NEED to know the "staggering piece of news" just as much as I do, right?

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Published by: Avon
Publication Date: September 20th, 2022
Format: Hardcover, 432 Pages
To Buy

The official patter:
"Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone - a steamy plus-size holiday rom-com about an adult film star who is semi-accidentally cast as a lead in a family-friendly Christmas movie, and the former bad-boy pop star she falls in love with.

Bee Hobbes (aka Bianca Von Honey) has a successful career as a plus-size adult film star. With a huge following and two supportive moms, Bee couldn't ask for more. But when Bee's favorite producer casts her to star in a Christmas movie he's making for the squeaky-clean Hope Channel, Bee's career is about to take a more family-friendly direction.

Forced to keep her work as Bianca under wraps, Bee quickly learns this is a task a lot easier said than done. Though it all becomes worthwhile when she discovers her co-star is none other than childhood crush Nolan Shaw, an ex-boy band member in desperate need of career rehab. Nolan's promised his bulldog manager to keep it zipped up on set, and he will if it means he'll be able to provide a more stable living situation for his sister and mom.

But things heat up quickly in Christmas Notch, Vermont, when Nolan recognizes his new co-star from her ClosedDoors account (oh yeah, he's a member). Now Bee and Nolan are sneaking off for quickies on set, keeping their new relationship a secret from the Hope Channel's execs. Things only get trickier when the reporter who torpedoed Nolan's singing career comes snooping around - and takes an instant interest in mysterious newcomer Bee.

And if Bee and Nolan can't keep their off-camera romance behind the scenes, then this merry little meet cute might end up on the cutting room floor."

Not ALL my Christmas reading can be about murder, sometime one needs a nice steamy romance.

Posted by Miss Eliza at 12:00 AM 0 comments  

Labels: Amanda Flower, Bobby Finger, David Annandale, Elspeth Barker, Fliss Chester, Josh Malerman, Julie Murphy, Justina Ireland, Philip Pullman, Richard Osman, Rita Woods, Sierra Simone, Susan Elia MacNeal