Tag: Philippa Gregory

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Blog Tours book reviews Emma's Anticipated Treasures

BLOG TOUR: The Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory

Published October 7th, 2025 by Harper Fiction
Historical Fiction, Biographical Ficiton, Political Fiction

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

She ​survives four queens. Will she fall to a tyrant?

Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court. Where nothing is more powerful than a secret – or more deadly.

As the Boleyns rise, Jane rises with them. But the king’s love is a fickle thing. And when the royal gaze turns elsewhere, Jane uses the only weapon she has: her voice.

To survive in this dazzling, dangerous world she has mastered many masks: loving wife, devoted sister, and obedient spy. Now she must step out of the shadows.

She might outlive her rivals. She might know the court’s darkest secrets. But power rests on the edge of a tyrant king’s sword. Where will it fall next?

Philippa Gregory brings the Boleyn traitor into the light in an explosive story of one woman’s survival in the treacherous heart of the Tudor court.

buy the book

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MY REVIEW:

Historical storyteller extraordinaire Philippa Gregory takes on the life of Jane Boleyn, England’s most hated lady-in-waiting, in her latest epic reimagining. 

Summer, 1534. Jane is lady-in-waiting to Anne, the infamous second wife of Henry VIII. It is a tense and tumultuous time; Henry’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon, has been exiled, Henry has broken ties with the Catholic church, and Anne is pregnant for the second time, hopefully with a boy. But Jane is no newcomer to court, she’s served for many years and has learned to wear different masks to survive: wife, sister, servant, witness, liar and spy. And, as Anne’s fortunes fall, Jane’s talent for trading secrets just might be the key to her survival. But as the King becomes increasingly tyrannical, can she escape his wrath?

This is a story of family, ambition, power, tyranny and sexism that exposes the dark side of Tudor court that simmered beneath the jewels, extravagant clothes and lavish balls. Told by Jane Boleyn, this is an evocative portrayal of what life was really like at court. It was a precarious existence where your fortunes could change on the whims of the king and no one – not even his wives – were ever safe. There’s a constant sense of fear and foreboding, of trying to predict Henry’s every mood and desire. People are always trying to stay one step ahead and trade in secrets and betrayal in order to survive. It felt like a lonely existence where you can’t even trust your own spouse or family. And Jane is nothing if she isn’t a survivor. 

I’ve been a fan of Philippa Gregory ever since I first read The Other Boleyn Girl many years ago and have long been fascinated with the Tudor era, so I couldn’t wait to revisit it once again. And what a joy it was! Expertly written, meticulously researched, richly imagined and transportive, this novel is the epitome of a master at work. Ms. Gregory’s love for these characters and the time period is evident in every word and she brings history to life in such vivid detail it bursts from the pages and feels like you’re in the room with them. 

A magnificent piece of historical fiction from a legendary author, I highly recommend this book.

Rating: ✮✮✮✮.5

Thank you to Harper Fiction for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Philippa Gregory is an internationally renowned historian and novelist. She holds a PhD in eighteenth-century literature at the University of Edinburgh and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff, an honorary research fellow at Birkbeck University of London and she was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her services to literature and to charity. Her novels have been adapted for stage and screen and in 2023 she published her groundbreaking history book, Normal Women – 900 Years of Making History, which was also released as a podcast, a teen edition and a series for young children.

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Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

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Emma's Anticipated Treasures

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – October 2025

*This post contains affiliate links

October is almost here. It’s time for reading under fuzzy blanets, drinking hot chocolate and eating parkin. It’s also time for my list of most anticipated October releases. One of the books I’m excited for is my most anticipated book of the year:House of Splinters by L aura Purcell. I can not wait to finally read this book!

Here are the xx books out in October that I’m most anticipating:

Medlock by S. G. Hartnell

Published October 2nd by Viper
Gothic Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Horror Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
‘Macabre and frightening’ PAULA HAWKINS
‘Twisted, exhilarating and very, very creepy’ LOUISE CANDLISH
‘Will keep you reading well into the night and awake well beyond that’ CATHERINE COOPER

1978. Mrs. Medlock is the dutiful housekeeper at Marwood Manor. One of the few remaining staff, she protects a dying aristocratic order, serving the Lord and Lady and caring for their sickly young son.

For over the past twenty years, Mrs. Medlock has become the keeper of secrets. Secrets of the family. Secrets of her own. Secrets that may be found in the manor’s walled garden, out of sight but not forgotten.

When a distant relative, Mary, arrives at the property in need of a place to live and with a determination to explore, Mrs. Medlock fears the secrets of Marwood are no longer safe. And digging up the past may have deadly consequences for them all . . .

Pre-order here*

The Vanishing Place by Zoe Rankin

Published October 2nd by Viper
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
One girl escaped. But the forest took another…

A young girl wanders into the small town of Koraha, her hands stained with blood. She won’t speak, but her path is tracked through New Zealand’s unforgiving wilderness to a cabin – and the scene of a double murder.

The townsfolk know this cabin; it has a violent history. Twenty years ago, another girl was forced to flee, leaving her siblings and father behind. But now that her family’s secrets have led to more victims, Effie has no choice but to return to the bush and face the truth of what happened there… and why she ran.

Flooded with atmosphere and full of twists, The Vanishing Place is perfect for readers of Lucy Clarke and Sarah Pearse.

Pre-order here*

Soyangri Book Kitchen by Kim Jee Hye

Published October 2nd by Harvill Secker
Literary Fiction, Translated Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
In a peaceful village in the countryside, far from the bustling heart of Seoul, lies a book lovers’ paradise. With its wafts of delicious food and book-filled shelves, Soyangri Book Kitchen is managed by its plucky proprietor Yoojin. Her aim? To create a sanctuary for weary souls like herself.

But the book kitchen is more than just a place to eat or read – it’s a place which offers its guests a true escape, not just inside the pages of its many books, but in the warm embrace of an overnight bookstay.

Over one year, seven people at a crossroads in their lives find their way to Yoojin’s book kitchen. Among them are Da-in, a singer grappling with an identity crisis, Sohee, a promising lawyer confronted with a daunting medical diagnosis, and Soohyuk, a young musical director whose dreams have been stifled.

As they arrive in Soyangri, each of them will find their life subtly transformed by the magic of its books and the kindness of its people.

Pre-order here*

Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber

Published October 7th by Gollancz
Fairy Tale, Fantasy Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Thriller

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
YOU’RE HERE BECAUSE OF A STORY . . .

It starts with a class in an old movie theatre. Folklore 517: Local Legends and Urban Myths, taught by a woman called the Professor.

Most students believe the Professor’s stories are just fiction, but Holland St. James has always been convinced that magic is real.

Her search for the truth leads her to a dazzling new world, a deadly ultimatum hidden at the heart of Los Angeles, and into the path of a magnetic stranger who claims he’s been sent to save her life.

But everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her, even this stranger. And if she can’t figure out whom to trust, her magical reality could change from a Hollywood dream to a nightmare.

Alchemy of Secrets is the spectacular new novel from global phenomenon Stephanie Garber, the multimillion-copy bestselling author of the Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart series. Fusing spellbinding Hollywood secrets with a cinematic mystery, it will transport you into another world.

Pre-order here*

The Second Chance Cinema by Thea Weiss

Published October 7th by HQ
Magical Realism, Domestic Fiction, Contemporary Romance

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
The Midnight Library meets Ashley Poston, in an emotional, heartwarming debut romantic novel, where an engaged couple stumble upon a magical movie theatre that plays formative memories from their lives, showing secrets they both have been keeping from each other.

……….

What if the love of your life could watch the story of your past?

At the end of a fog-covered alley, glitters a glamorous cinema. It’s nearly impossible to find. When Ellie and her fiancé, Drake, stumble upon it during a late-night walk, they’re shocked to discover what’s playing inside the red-velvet auditorium: their formative memories.

Drake fears what the cinema might reveal, but eventually gives in when Ellie insists they return for more viewings. She’s haunted by a night from her past that she doesn’t fully remember. This is her opportunity to piece the story back together. But as the memories displayed on screen inch closer to the present, they realize they’re both keeping secrets from each other.

With their wedding on the horizon, Ellie and Drake must decide if seeing their pasts changes their plans for a future together.

Filled with warmth, hope, and a dash of magic, The Second Chance Cinema is both an enchanting escape and a thought-provoking examination of how our memories shape who we are.

Pre-order here*

Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory

Published October 7th by Harper Collins UK
Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Political Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
She ​survives four queens. Will she fall to a tyrant?

Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court. Where nothing is more powerful than a secret – or more deadly.

As the Boleyns rise, Jane rises with them. But the king’s love is a fickle thing. And when the royal gaze turns elsewhere, Jane uses the only weapon she has: her voice.

To survive in this dazzling, dangerous world she has mastered many masks: loving wife, devoted sister, and obedient spy. Now she must step out of the shadows.

She might outlive her rivals. She might know the court’s darkest secrets. But power rests on the edge of a tyrant king’s sword. Where will it fall next?

Philippa Gregory brings the Boleyn traitor into the light in an explosive story of one woman’s survival in the treacherous heart of the Tudor court.

Pre-order here*

The Ordeals by Rachel Greenlaw

Published October 7th by HQ
Romantic Fantasy, Romance Novel, Fantasy Fiction, Paranormal Romance, Adventure Fiction, New Adult Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Old Magic. New power. A contest to die for.

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Sophia DeWinter has been bound to her cruel uncle, the Collector since he exacted a blood bond from her as a child. When she learns of Killmarth, an elite academy for magic wielders outside of the Collector’s control, she grabs it as her only chance to break free.

Each hopeful must prove their worth by competing in brutal and deadly challenges – the Ordeals. And that’s just the beginning, because hopefuls are also being viciously picked off one-by-one. To survive, Sophia could team up with another challenger. Perhaps the powerful wielder Alden Locke. But how to identify an ally from a rival? Or even a murderer?

In her haste to escape the Collector’s power over her, has Sophia risked everything only to run from the flames and into the fire?

Pre-order here*

The Hong Kong Widow by Kristen Loesch

Published October 7th by Allison & Busby
Gothic Fiction, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Horror Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
1953. Mei’s ‘gift’ of speaking to ghosts is one that she has endeavoured to bury while fighting to survive as a refugee in post-war, post-revolution Hong Kong. When former silent film star Holly Zhang invites Mei to the infamous Maidenhair House, the startling summons revives her link to the man who destroyed her life. During six séances over six nights, each night a medium will be asked to leave until only one remains as the recipient of a staggering reward, but the only prize Mei wants is revenge.

Years later, that shocking night in the labyrinthine mansion has become an urban legend, dismissed by the police at the time as a collective hallucination. Mei must uncover the truth of what really happened and see if the ghosts she has carried can finally be laid to rest.

Pre-order here*

House of Splinters by Laura Purcell

Published October 9th by Raven
Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Horror Fiction, Ghost Story

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Not every house is a home…

Belinda Bainbridge has spent her life in the shadow of her anxious mother, so when her father-in-law dies at The Bridge, his remote ancestral seat, she is secretly thrilled. His death means she, her husband Wilfred and their children can relocate and finally begin to create their own happy home together: born a merchant’s daughter, she will now be lady of the manor.

But their new home quickly proves far from ideal. The garden is a wilderness, the estate is struggling financially, there are whispers about the mysterious death of a servant many years before while their young son, Freddy, seems unusually fixated on the strange wooden figures – so-called ‘silent companions’ – that were once owned by his ancestors.

When Wilfred’s charismatic brother, Nathan, arrives unexpectedly from abroad, bringing a very different account of the family’s past, Belinda begins to question what her husband has told her. What really lies behind the sad history of the house?

And are Belinda’s children truly safe here?

The outstanding new haunted house story from Sunday Times bestseller and multi award winner, Laura Purcell, who is credited for reigniting readers’ passion for classic gothic tales for a new audience.

Pre-order here*

The Last Witch by C. J. Cooke

Published October 9th by Harper Fiction
Historical Fiction, Thriller, Horror Fiction, Supernatural Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Will she be damned by flame… or cursed by magic?

Innsbruck 1485

Helena should be doing what every other wealthy young wife is doing: keeping her husband’s house, bearing his children. But when their footman is found dead, Helena is accused of killing him. Worse, she is accused of being a witch.

Imprisoned with six other women, Helena is plunged into a world of terror. When a cursed witch totem is smuggled into the prison, the prisoners attempt to use it to escape only to unleash a malevolent spirit which places all their lives in danger.

Does Helena risk her life and the lives of others by standing up to the terrifying witchfinder and risk death at the stake if found guilty? Or is the real threat the world beyond this one…?

Pre-order here*

The Infirmary by Carly Reagon

Published October 9th by Sphere
Gothic Ficiton, Historical Ficiton, Horror Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Obsession is a sickness
For which there is no cure.

Suffolk, 1847.
Charles Keller needs to escape London, so he leaps when he is offered a position as surgeon at a country infirmary for the poor. But St Cross is not as he expected, and he soon finds himself reflecting on a promise he once made. A promise to do no harm.

Some promises are made to be broken.

Suffolk, 2023.
Liam has brought his family to an old country house for a holiday, a former infirmary called St Cross. He can’t tell them why they are really here, but he hopes that, after this, he can start again. No more lies, no more secrets. But what Liam doesn’t know is that the house is keeping secrets of its own.

And some secrets are so dark, they should never be brought to light.

Pre-order here*

Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk

Published October 9th by Harper Collins UK
Ronance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction, Holiday Fiction, Festive Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Is a fake boyfriend really just for Christmas?

One fake romance. One magical Christmas. One chance to fall in love.

Laura was all set for a quiet solo Christmas – just her, a bottle of wine, and flat-sitting for a stranger. But when the stranger’s parents mistake her for his mystery girlfriend, she’s swept off to the snowy Scottish Highlands with Callum and his whole family.

Between the cosy sleeper train, charming pubs and breathtaking views, this could be the no-strings-attached Christmas of Laura’s dreams.

But stranger Callum is hot, hilarious and their ‘fake’ chemistry is off the charts.

So is this just a Christmas fling? Or the start of something more?

Pre-order here*

The Secret Christmas LIbrary by Jenny Colgan

Published October 9th by Hodder & Stoughton
Romance Novel, Holiday Fiction, Festive Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
After Mirren Sutherland finds a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic, she is contacted by Jamie McPherson, who is hopeful she might be able to find another one- a book lost in his own house. He doesn’t even know the name of it, only that it is so valuable it could potentially save the entire estate from ruin, and time is running out.

On arriving at Jamie’s vast crumbling home in the highlands of Scotland (on the family train, no less), Mirren meets rival bookseller Theo Palliser, whose motives are not remotely honourable; and sets out on the quest.

Jamie’s grandfather was a book collector, a philanthropist, a hoarder and a great lover of puzzles and treasure hunts – as the snow falls in the highlands, cutting off the outside world, the three of them, plus Maggie, the estate manager, do their best to uncover the last hope of the MacPherson clan before the year ends: following clues, discovering the secrets of the house and forming and breaking alliances in a race against time and the weather.

Caught between devastatingly attractive and immoral Theo, and the distracted and worried Jamie, will Mirren find the book … and lose her heart?

Pre-order here*

Overdue by Stephanie Perkins

Published October 9th by Zaffre
Contemporary Romance

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Ingrid Dahl is a cheerful, twenty-nine-year-old librarian living in the cosy mountain town of Ridgetop. She and her boyfriend since college, Cory, have never discussed marriage; they’re perfectly happy with the way things are. But when Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory suddenly feel pressured to start thinking about the inevitable: marriage and kids.

The thing is, neither of them has ever been with anyone else. Shouldn’t they sow their oats before settling down?

They make the unorthodox decision to separate for a month to date other people, assuming that at the end of it, they’ll reunite and start planning their nuptials. And Ingrid has the perfect man in mind for this relationship sabbatical–Macon Nowakowski, her cantankerous and completely adorable coworker for whom she’s had a crush for years.

But of course the best laid plans often go awry, and when Ingrid and Cory meet at the end of the month to resume next steps in their relationship, it’s clear neither of them is ready to get back together…

Pre-order here*

Murder Most Haunted by Emma Mason

Published Octobter 16th by Bantam
Mystery, Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Police Procedural, Humorous Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
As the snow falls, the haunting begins… Get ready for the most gripping cosy murder mystery debut of the year.

‘A delightfully engaging debut, starring one of the most amusing and unusual sleuths I’ve come across. Best enjoyed with a nice glass of sherry!’ Tess Gerritsen

A grand country estate.
On her last day as a Detective, Midge McGowan is given the retirement present from hell: a ticket to take part in a haunted house tour. She’ll have to spend the weekend before Christmas ghost-hunting in an isolated mansion with a group of misfits, including a know-it-all paranormal investigator and a has-been pop star.

An impossible crime.
It isn’t long before the tour starts to spiral out of control. Midge and the guests see an unsettling figure walking the grounds late at night. Then the unthinkable happens – someone is murdered in a room that’s been locked from the inside.

A Christmas they might not survive.
Heavy snow cuts them off from help, the house’s own dark secrets begin to surface, and Midge can’t shake the creeping sense that they are walking into a nightmare. Could a ghost really be responsible, or is the culprit one of the guests?

Pre-order here*

Conform by Ariel Sullivan

Published October 16th by Tor
Romance Novel, Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Dystopian Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
One man could offer her the world. The other will help her destroy it . . .

Born to an Elite family, Emeline has been marked as different from birth and by a society that judges all its citizens on their ability to conform.

Emeline only has one role open to her: to become a mother. Offered a pro-creation contract with Collin, a member of the Illum ­­– the governing body of the Elite ­– Emeline finds herself increasingly torn between her growing complicated feelings for her proposed mate, and another man who lives on the margins of their society who challenges her ideals.

When the marginalized rise up in rebellion, Emeline begins to question everything she has ever believed in.

It’s time to choose a side . . .

Pre-order here*

Best Wishes from the Full Moon Coffee Shop by Mai Mochizuki

Published October 16th by Brazen
Fairy Tale, Magical Realism, Holiday Fiction, Festive Ficiton, Translated Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Welcome back to the Full Moon Coffee Shop. What do you really want this Christmas?

At the Full Moon Coffee Shop, we don’t take your order. Instead, we bring you desserts and drinks – selected just for you.

In Japanese myth, cats are symbols of good luck. If you are kind to them, they’ll return the favour one day. And if you are kind to the right cat, you might find yourself invited to a celestial café. The Full Moon Coffee Shop normally materialises on the night of the full moon – with one exception every year. This Christmas, the sagacious cats open their doors once more to all lost souls in need of a guiding light.

The season’s first customer, Satomi, catches wind of her boyfriend’s plan to propose on Christmas Eve, and feels torn between love and success. Her disaffected intern, Koyuki, has her own reasons for dreading the day, ever since her father died in a car accident. And Junko’s estranged father has fallen gravely ill, driving her to visit home after decades away.

In this festive follow-up to the cosy classic, the customers of the Full Moon Coffee Shop stand at a wintry crossroads in their lives. With the help of some feline divinations, they will find the courage to follow their stars into the new year.

Pre-order here*

The Witching Hour by Various

Published October 16th by Sphere
Gothic Fiction, Contemporary Horror, Short Stories Collection

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
FROM THE CREATORS OF THE HAUNTING SEASONAND THE WINTER SPIRITS COMES A BRAND NEW COLLECTION OF GHOSTLY TALES

Featuring new and original stories from:
Michelle Paver
Stacey Halls
Bridget Collins
Imogen Hermes Gowar
Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Andrew Michael Hurley
Jess Kidd
Natasha Pulley
Elizabeth Macneal
Susan Stokes-Chapman
Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Stuart Turton
Catriona Ward

_________

There is something peculiar about the hour after midnight.

It is the time when darkness reigns.

And strange things roam the earth.

In this dazzling collection of original haunted tales, thirteen bestselling and much-loved authors bring the old superstition of the witching hour to new and vivid life.

Transporting you from the smog of London to the freezing mists of Svalbard, from an Irish town riddled with rumour to a sinister English boarding school, these thirteen stories will serve as your spinetingling companion to the long hours of winter.

So curl up, light a candle, and wait for the clock to strike . . .

Pre-order here*

King Sorrow by Joe Hill

Published October 21st by Headline
Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Horror Fiction, Psychological Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Bookish dreamer Arthur Oakes is a student at Rackham College, Maine, renowned for its frosty winters and beautiful buildings.

But his idyll – and burgeoning romance with Gwen Underfoot – is shattered when local drug dealers force him into a terrible crime: stealing rare and valuable books from the exceptional college library.

Trapped and desperate, Arthur turns to his closest friends for help: the wealthy, irrepressible Colin Wren; brave, beautiful Allison Shiner; the battling twins Donna and Donovan McBride; and brainy, bold Gwen. Together they dream up an impossible, fantastical scheme that they scarcely imagine will work: to summon the fabled dragon King Sorrow to kill those tormenting Arthur.

But the six stumble backwards into a deadly bargain – they soon learn they must choose a new sacrifice for King Sorrow each year or one of them will become his next victim. Unleashing consequences they can neither predict nor control, this promise will, over the course of four decades, shape and endanger their lives in ways they could never expect.

Pre-order here*

Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake

Published October 23rd by Tor
Psychological Thriller, Satire, Supernatural Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
From the Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller Olivie Blake, this is a powerful and darkly fun novel about ambition, lust and eating your fill – as wealthy moms and sorority girls practice a sinister new wellness trend . . .

Good girls deserve a treat.

The House is the most exclusive sorority on campus, and all its alumni are beautiful, high-achieving and respected.

After a freshman year she would rather forget, sophomore Nina Kaur knows being accepted into The House is the first step to the brightest possible future. The House will surely ease her fears of failure and protect her from those who see a young woman on her own as prey.

Meanwhile, adjunct professor Dr Sloane Hartley is struggling. After eighteen months at home with her newborn daughter, Sloane’s clothes don’t fit right; her girl-dad husband isn’t as present as he thinks he is; and even the few hours a day she’s apart from her child fill her psyche with paralyzing ennui. When invited to be The House’s academic liaison, Sloane enviously drinks in a level of collective perfection that Sloane desperately craves.

As Nina and Sloane each get drawn deeper into the arcane rituals of the sisterhood, they learn that living well comes with bloody costs. And when they are finally invited to the table, they will have to decide just how much they can stomach in the name of solidarity and power.

Pre-order here*

The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen

Published October 23rd by Orenda
Mystery, Suspense, Humorous Ficiton, Translated Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A desperate father’s Christmas promise sparks a wild Finnish road trip involving an antique sofa, unexpected passengers and danger … A darkly humorous and warmly touching suspense novel about friendship, love and death, The Winter Job flies at 120 kilometres an hour straight into the darkest heart of a Finnish winter night. 

The NEW standalone darkly funny, poignant and uber-tense thriller from ‘The funniest writer in Europe’ (The Times) 

Fargo meets Carl Hiassen and Fredrik Backman … via the Coen Brothers

____

Sofas, secrets and a snowbound road to trouble…

Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he’s desperate. 

A last-minute job offers a solution: transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland. 

With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada.

That’s when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special. 

And that’s when Ilmari realises he might be in serious trouble…

A darkly funny and unexpectedly moving thriller about friendship, love and death – The Winter Job tears through the frozen landscape of northern Finland in a beat-up van with bad steering, worse timing, and everything to lose…

Pre-order here*

Black As Death by Lilja Sigurdardottir

Published October 23rd by Orenda
Crime Fiction, Mystery, Police Procedural, Hardboiled Fiction, Icelandic Noir, Translated Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
When the chief suspect in the disappearance of Áróra’s sister is found dead, and Áróra’s new financial investigation leads to the street where her sister was last seen, she is drawn into a shocking case that threatens everything … The unmissable finale to the chilling, twisty, award-winning series…

_______


A final reckoning…

With the fate of her missing sister, Ísafold, finally uncovered, Áróra feels a fragile relief as the search that consumed her life draws to a close. But when Ísafold’s boyfriend – the prime suspect in her disappearance – is found dead at the same site where Ísafold’s body was discovered, Áróra’s grip on reality starts to unravel … and the mystery remains far from solved.

To distract herself, she dives headfirst into a money-laundering case that her friend Daníel is investigating. But she soon finds that there is more than meets the eye and, once again, all leads point towards Engihjalli, the street where Ísafold lived and died, and a series of shocking secrets that could both explain and endanger everything…

Atmospheric, dark and chilling, Black as Death is the breathtaking finale to the twisty, immersive An Áróra Investigation series, as Áróra and her friends search for answers that may take them to places even darker than death…

Perfect for readers of Camilla Läckberg, Karin Slaughter, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir and Jo Nesbø.

Pre-order here*

Gone Before Goodbye by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben

Published October 23rd by Century
Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Medical Thriller, Adventure Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
An unforgettable collaboration between an award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and the and #1 international bestselling writer Harlan Coben.

———

Maggie McCabe is on the brink. A highly skilled and renowned army combat surgeon, she has always lived life at the edge.

But now, after a devastating series of personal tragedies, Maggie is thrown a lifeline by a former colleague, an elite surgeon whose anonymous clientele demand the best care money can buy – as well as absolute discretion.

Halfway across the globe, one of the world’s most mysterious men requires unconventional medical assistance. Desperate, and one of the few surgeons in the world skilled enough to take this job, Maggie enters his realm of unspeakable opulence and fulfils her end of the agreement.

But when the patient suddenly disappears while still under her care, Maggie must become a fugitive herself – or she will be the next one who is . . . Gone Before Goodbye.

Pre-order here*

The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin

Published October 23rd by Hanover Square Press
Historical Fiction, Gothic Ficiton, Domestic Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
You are cordially invited to the Secret Book Society…

London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.

Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.

As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.

Pre-order here*

Let the Bells Ring Out by Milly Johnson

Published October 23rd by Simon & Schuster UK
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Holiday Ficion, Festive Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Seven people, four days and a snowy Christmas on board a luxury sleeper train. This festive season getting away from it all takes on a new meaning…

The Yorkshire Belle is a glamorous steam train all decked out for an escapist festive getaway. It is not supposed to be where a group of people, all trying to get to their destinations for the holidays, will spend their Christmas. 

Seven people, each with their own hopes and dreams, secrets and sorrows, board the train as strangers, but as the snow keeps falling and they realise they are going nowhere fast, they are forced to slow down and embrace the present.

This Christmas on board the Yorkshire Belle, will the friendships they make change their lives forever?

Pre-order here*

All Together For Christmas by Sarah Morgan

Published October 23rd by HQ
Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Domestic Fiction, Holiday Fiction, Festive Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
This Christmas, the Balfour family will have more secrets to unwrap than presents

Becky is stranded at the airport, so when she bumps into her brother’s best friend, Will, and he suggests they drive home together, Becky reluctantly agrees. For the first time, Becky is dreading Christmas, and only Will knows why. Can she trust him to keep her secret?

Her twin sister Rosie married Declan after a whirlwind romance, and now the cracks are starting to appear. Rosie and Declan have agreed to hide their problems from her family, but Rosie’s insecurities are growing. Will this Christmas bring them closer or drive them apart?

Hayley can’t wait for her first Balfour family Christmas with Jamie. The Balfour Christmas traditions sound wonderful, but she’s worried about her place in this close-knit family. Will there be room for her too? And how will they react to the secret she and Jamie have been keeping?

Despite everyone’s best intentions, all the chaos and confusion could derail their normally happy holidays. Can they tell each other the truth in time to enjoy a perfect family Christmas?

Pre-order here*

The White Octopus Hotel by Alexandra Bell

Published Octobe 28th by Del Rey
Romance Novel, Magical Realism, Historical Fiction, Romantic Fantasty, Time Travel Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Journey to a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps in this spellbinding historical romance blending mystery, art, romance and time travel.
_________________________________
BEHIND EVERY DOOR, A SECOND CHANCE
‘Have you travelled a long way?’ she asked carefully.
A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. ‘Well, yes,” he said slowly. ‘Yes, you could say that. But it was worth the wait.’

London, 2015

When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her London office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her.

His name is Max Everly – curiously, the same name as Eve’s favourite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she can’t shake the feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?

The White Octopus Hotel, 1935

Decades earlier, high in the snowy Swiss Alps, Eve and a young Max Everly wander the winding halls of the grand belle epoque White Octopus Hotel, lost in time.

Each of them has been through the trenches – Eve in a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War – but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.

Pre-order here*

Heap Earth Upon It by Chloe Michelle Howarth

Published October 28th by Verve
Gothic Fiction, Historical Fiction, LGBT Literature

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
** A creeping story of sibling rivalry and dangerous obsession from the multi-award nominated author of Sunburn **

January 1965. The orphaned O’Leary siblings – Tom, Jack, Anna and Peggy – arrive in the village of Ballycrea, tight-lipped about their troubled past and desperate for a fresh start.

After being met with suspicion from most of the locals, the family are thrilled when they’re taken under the wing of their well-respected neighbours, Bill and Betty Nevan, who offer them work, companionship and an opportunity to fit in.

But for one of the O’Learys, this new friendship sparks an intense attachment that makes the dynamic dangerous for all. It’s difficult to bury secrets, but almost impossible to bury feelings…

Crackling with suspense, Heap Earth Upon It revisits the rural Ireland of Howarth’s critically acclaimed debut and delves into claustrophobic relationships and tangled identities, leaving you wondering who to trust until the very last page. It combines the emotional intensity and slow-burn sapphic obsession of Julia Armfield’s Our Wives Under the Sea and Yael van der Wouden’s The Safekeep with the unsettling gothic undertones of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca and Shirley Jackson’s fiction.

Pre-order here*

The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Published October 30th by Tor
Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fantasy, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tale

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
A legend. A lie. A love story.

A lady-knight whose legend built a nation meets a retiring historian in awe of her fame. He’s sent back through time to make sure she plays her part . . . even if it breaks his heart.

Sir Una Everlasting was Dominion’s greatest hero: the orphaned girl who became a knight, who died for queen and country. Her legend lives on in songs and stories, in children’s books and recruiting posters – but her life as it truly happened has been forgotten. Centuries later, Owen Mallory – failed soldier, struggling scholar – falls in love with the tale of Una Everlasting. Her story takes him to war, to the archives, and then into the past itself. Una and Owen are tangled together in time, bound to retell the same story over and over again, no matter what it costs. But that story always ends the same way.

If they want to rewrite Una’s legend, and finally tell a different story, they’ll have to rewrite history itself – and change their lives in the process.

Pre-order here*

The Murder at World’s End by Ross Montgomery

Published October 30th by Viking
Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Domestic Fiction

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Downton Abbey meets Knives Out in the gripping new crime series from the bestselling author where an unlikely sleuthing duo – an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogerian – hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world.

Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley’s Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom – every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within… By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow.

All eyes turn to Stephen Pike, Tithe Hall’s newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn’t commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she’s been waiting for.

Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it’s too late…

Pre-order here*

Petty Lies by Sulmi Bak

Published October 30th by Raven Books
Suspense, Horror Fiction, Epistolary Novel, Translated Ficiton

BOOK DESCRIPTION:
Dear Jiwon,
I’m writing to you regarding the murder of your son…

Revenge is perhaps best served by letter. But letters get answered. And when a young tutor takes up the pen to write to her former employer revealing the true motive behind tutoring her son, she will trigger a chain of events that will leave you questioning everything – and everyone.

Dear Jiwon,
What’s the first thing we learn as babies? Don’t trust another person for no good reason. Even your own flesh and blood to whom you gave birth is no exception. After all, one’s offspring are other people too.
But how many times can I tell you to trust no one? Not even me.

—-
Content warning: this book contains instances of animal abuse and death

Pre-order here*

********

Which of these are on your TBR? Let me know in the comments below.

********

Thanks for reading, Bibliophiles xxxx

Categories
Emma's Anticipated Treasures Most Anticipated 2023

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – October 2023

Welcome to the October edition of Emma’s Anticipated Treasures. There’s lots of exciting books in store this month, including intriguing debuts, and new releases from Antti Tuomainen, C.J. Cooke, Stephanie Garber, Sophie Kinsella, and Janice Hallett. There are also re-releases or special editions of some of my favourite books that I can’t wait for.

So, here’s what I’m most excited about being released in October:

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

Published October 3rd by Hodderscape
Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Hisotrical Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
She didn’t want Prince Charming. She wanted the demon.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kerri Maniscalco, Throne of the Fallen is a seductive new standalone novel set within the Kingdom of the Wicked world.

A wicked prince. A fallen painter. Let the games begin . . .

The Prince of Envy has never claimed to be a saint. But when a cryptic note arrives at his demon court, signalling the beginning of a deadly game, he knows it will take more than a hint of sin to win. Riddles, hexed objects, anonymous players, nothing will stand in his way.

Camilla is an artist with troubles of her own: a desperate mistake has landed her in debt to a notorious rake. Threatened with ruinous scandal, she is forced to enter a devil’s bargain with Envy. A bargain that reveals secrets and ignites passions that neither of them expects.

Together, Envy and Camilla must embark on a perilous journey through the underworld – from glittering demon courts to the sultry vampire realm and beyond – while trying to avoid the most dangerous trap of all: falling in love.

Pre-order here*

The Takedown by Carlie Walker

Published October 3rd by Orion
Romance, Mystery, Holiday Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
MISS CONGENIALITY meets Emily Henry with the spice of MR AND MRS SMITH in this fun, sexy and absolutely irresistible romcom.

—

He wants to take her out. She wants to take him down…

Sydney’s mission is simple:

1. Stop her little sister from marrying a notorious criminal
2. Seduce his bodyguard to gather intel for the FBI
3. Definitely do not fall in love…

Agent Sydney Swift is going home for the holidays. She’s just discovered that her younger sister, Calla, is engaged to Johnny Jones – the heir to the nation’s most notorious crime dynasty – and she’s determined to stop their perfect winter wedding at any cost.

But gathering incriminating evidence on Johnny isn’t as easy as she’d hoped, especially as her biggest obstacle is Nick, his infuriatingly handsome and charming bodyguard!

As Sydney spends more time with Nick, lines begin to blur, and while seducing him to gather intel was bad enough, falling for him is even worse.

Soon Sydney is faced with a difficult decision – one that certainly wasn’t covered in her training . . .

Pre-order here*

While Idaho Slept: The Hunt For Answers in the Murders of Four College Students by J. Reuben Appleman

Published October 3rd by Harper Paperbacks
True Crime

SYNOPSIS:
The author of the acclaimed true-crime memoir, The Kill Jar, tells the inside story of the “University of Idaho Murders,” offering a memorable, thoughtful dive into our societal fascination with true crime, the media’s seeming blood-frenzy, and the future of homicide investigations, while cultivating an intimate look into the minds and hearts of the victims and their suspected killer alike. 

Just after 4:00 am on November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were viciously stabbed to death in an off-campus house. The killings would shake the small blue-collar college town of Moscow, Idaho, dominate mainstream news coverage, and become a social media obsession, drawing millions of clicks and views. While a reticent Moscow Police Department, the FBI, and the Idaho State Police searched for the killer, unending conjecture and countless theories blazed online, in chatrooms and platforms from Reddit and YouTube to Facebook and TikTok. For more than a month, the clash of armchair investigators and law enforcement professionals raged, until a suspect—a 28-year-old Ph.D. candidate studying criminology—was arrested at his family home 2,500 miles away in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on the day before New Year’s Eve.

While Idaho Slept is a thought-provoking, literary chronicle of a small-town murder investigation blistering beneath the unceasing light of international interest, as traditional investigators, citizen sleuths, and the true-crime media acted—sometimes together, often in conflict—to uncover the truth. As J. Reuben Appelman brings this terrible crime into focus, he humanizes the four victims, examining the richness of their lives, dissects the mind and motivations of their presumed killer, and explores the world of northern Idaho, a rugged, deeply conservative stronghold steeped in Christian values and American patriotism. 

Going deep inside the case, Appelman addresses a crucial question: With so many millions of citizens armed by access and hungry to take part in a true crime hunt of their own, has the nature of homicide investigations permanently changed? Rising above the sensational, While Idaho Slept illuminates the intrinsic connection between today’s media, citizen sleuths, our societal mania for murder tales, and an impatient public’s insatiable appetite for spectacle as never before. Running beneath, the pulse of the story is a heartbreaking narrative of the people we love, the dreams we all share, and the uncertain time left for sharing them.

Pre-order here

The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

Published October 5th by Mantle
Mystery, Literary Fiction, Psycholgical Fiction, Urban Fiction, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The Kamogawa Food Detectives, translated from Japanese by Jesse Kirkwood, is the first book in the bestselling, mouth-watering Japanese sleuthing series for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold.

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time?

Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare, the Kamogawa Diner treats its customers to wonderfully extravagant meals. But that’s not the main reason to stop by . . .

The father-daughter duo have started advertising their services as ‘food detectives’. Through ingenious investigations, they are capable of recreating a dish from their customers’ pasts – dishes that may well hold the keys to unlocking forgotten memories and future happiness.

From the widower looking for a specific noodle dish that his wife used to cook, to a first love’s beef stew, the restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to the past – and a way to a more contented future.

A bestseller in Japan, The Kamogawa Food Detectives is a celebration of good company and the power of a delicious meal.

Pre-order here*

The Babysitter by Emma Curtis

Published October 5th by Corvus
Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
Three women. Three secrets.

Claudia‘s life imploded ten years ago when she was convicted of the murder of her child. Now she has done the unthinkable and confessed to manslaughter in order to be granted parole – her only hope of finding out what really happened to Tilly.

Sara is married to Joe, Claudia’s ex-husband, and they have a young child together. She finally has everything she ever wanted, but Claudia’s release threatens the perfect life she has created.

Anna was the babysitter who let Claudia and Joe down on day their daughter disappeared. Married with a child of her own, Claudia’s reappearance in her quiet cul-de-sac is an unwelcome surprise.

These three women are tied together in more ways than they realize. But only one of them is capable of killing.

Pre-order here*

She’s A Killer by Kirsten McDougall

Published October 5th by Gallic Books
Thriller, Dark Comedy, Satire

SYNOPSIS:
‘Smart, assured, and extremely funny’ Eleanor Catton

‘A fabulously dark pleasure, delivered in prose of singing tautness’ Luke Jennings

Eleanor Oliphant meets Killing Eve in this darkly funny and gloriously unhinged New Zealand sensation, longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award 2023.

ALICE: 30-something, IQ of 159 (almost a genius), only communicates with her mother in Morse code. Her imaginary friend is back.

ERIKA: 15, daughter of hot ‘wealthugee’ who loves Russian literature, genuine genius, killer eyeliner and killer instincts.

The climate is in crisis and wealthy immigrants are flocking to New Zealand for shelter, stealing land, driving up food prices and taking over. But Alice has far more important things to worry about: hating her best friend’s husband, getting free wine and quiet-quitting her dull day job. Until she meets Erika.

Now, Alice is about to find herself drawn into action of the most radical – and dangerous – kind. Just what is a slacker to do?

Bold and brilliantly bizarre, She’s a Killer is the satirical dystopian cli-fi thriller you never knew you needed. Until now.

Pre-order here*

The Good Part by Sophie Cousens

Published October 26th by Hodder & Stoughton
Contemporary Romance, Romance Novel, Romantic Comedy, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From the New York Times bestselling author of Just Haven’t Met You Yet, This Time Next Year, and Before I Do

‘Sophie’s books are always filled with warmth, but she’s outdone herself here. It’s the definition of a feel-good read! Funny, poignant, and heartfelt, I fell head-over-heels for this one’ LAURA JANE WILLIAMS

Lucy Young is only twenty-six, but she’s exhausted. She’s tired of bad dates, being on the bottom rung at work, and living off Rice Krispies.

She’s ready to skip to the good part.

The part where she’s happily married, running the office, and never even thinking about her overdraft.

But you should be careful what you wish for . . .

Pre-order here*

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (Collector’s Edition)

Published October 5th by Corsair
Mystery, Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Thriller, Bildungsroman

SYNOPSIS:
‘Painfully beautiful’ The New York Times Book Review

‘Heart-wrenching… a compelling love story’ Entertainment Weekly

‘Astonishing’ People

For years, rumours of the ‘Marsh Girl’ have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life – until the unthinkable happens.

Pre-order here*

Lilith by Nikki Marmery

Published October 9th by Legend Press
Historical Fiction, Fairy Tale, Alternative History, Religious Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
LILITH IS THE HEROINE WOMEN HAVE WAITED SIX THOUSAND YEARS FOR.
ONE OF STYLIST’S BEST NEW FEMINIST RETELLINGS TO READ IN 2023
‘FEISTY, FURIOUS, AND STARTLINGLY FUNNY… EVERY PAGE SEETHES WITH LILITH’S RAGE AND HEARTACHE’ NAOMI KELSEY

In the Garden of Eden, at the beginning of time, an outrageous lie is born: that women are inferior.

Lilith and Adam are equal and happy in the Garden of Eden. But when Adam decides Lilith should submit to his will and lie beneath him, she refuses – and is banished forever from Paradise. Demonised and sidelined, Lilith watches in fury as God creates Eve, the woman who accepts her submission. But Lilith has a secret: she has already tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Endowed with Wisdom, she knows why Asherah – God’s wife and equal, the Queen of Heaven – is missing. Lilith has a plan: she will rescue Eve, find Asherah, restore balance to the world and regain her rightful place in Paradise

Pre-order here*

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare

Published October 10th by Tor
Fantasy Fiction, High Fantasy, Coming of Age Story

SYNOPSIS:
Two outcasts find themselves at the centre of world-altering change in Sword Catcher, the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.

‘Everything I look for in fantasy’ – George R. R. Martin

One was raised to rule. One was trained to die. Welcome to the Chronicles of Castellane.

In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, a young orphan named Kel is stolen from his old life to enter a new one of luxury and peril. He’s to become Prince Conor Aurelian’s body-double, shielding the Prince from all dangers. As his ‘Sword Catcher,’ he and Conor become close as brothers – yet Kel lives for one purpose: to die for Conor.

Lin Caster is an Ashkar physician, part of a community ostracised for its rare magical abilities. But events pull her and Kel together and into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King who rules Castellane’s criminal underworld.

Together, they’ll discover an extraordinary conspiracy. But can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will their discoveries plunge their nation into war and the world into chaos?

Lose yourself in a vibrant world of power, intrigue and magic in this spellbinding epic from an internationally bestselling sensation.

Pre-order here*

Hatchet Girls by Diana Rodriguez Wallach

Published October 10th by Delacorte Press
Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Set more than one hundred years after the Borden murders, this propulsive, supernatural thriller imagines what might happen if history were to repeat itself today. Perfect for fans of Kara Thomas and Courtney Summers!

When Mariella Morse accuses her boyfriend, Vik Gomez, of murdering her wealthy parents with an axe, the town is quick to believe her. It doesn’t help that Vik is caught standing over her parents’ bodies with blood on his hands, unable to remember anything about the night in question.

But Vik’s sister, Tessa, knows that Vik would never be capable of such a gruesome crime. Haunted by the mistakes she made that led her family to move to Fall River, MA in the first place, she sets out to prove her brother’s innocence.

Tessa’s search for answers will lead her into a sprawling, notoriously cursed forest, where she and Mariella must face a darkness that has lurked within their town since before the days of Lizzie Borden–the original axe murderess of Fall River.

Pre-order here*

I Wanted You To Know by Laura Pearson

Published Octoebr 10th by Boldwood Books
Romantic Comedy, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Dear Edie, I wanted you to know so many things. I wanted to tell you them in person, as you grew up by my side. But it wasn’t to be…

When Jess gives birth to Edie, it’s the happiest day of her life. She knows, from the moment her little girl’s hand grasps her finger, that her daughter owns her heart, completely and utterly. And even though Edie’s father has left them, and single motherhood isn’t easy, her beautiful, innocent child brings her untold joy.

But then Jess receives a diagnosis that changes everything. Edie’s life – that is just beginning – is interrupted by worried looks, heavy conversations. And Jess must face the possibility of leaving her daughter to grow up without her.

Propelled by a ticking clock, Jess knows what she has to do. She begins to put pen to paper, to tell her daughter everything she might need to know.

How to love, how to lose, how to forgive, and, most importantly, how to live when you never know how long you have…

Pre-order here*

The Black Feathers by Rebecca Netley

Published October 12th by Michael Joseph
Gothic Fiction, Ghost Story, Horror Fiction, Supernatural Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Where ghosts tread, black feathers fall . . .

When Annie marries widower Edward Stonehouse and arrives at Guardbridge, his estate on the Yorkshire moors, she thinks she has finally put darkness behind her.

She is mistaken.

Edward’s sister, Iris, still lives in the family home. A taxidermist and medium, she urges Annie to watch out for black feathers – claiming that they mark the spot where a spirt has visited.

At first, Annie dismisses her warnings. But, before long, she begins to feel haunted.

What exactly happened to Edward’s first wife? Why is Iris so disturbed?

And should Annie really be watching for signs from the dead – or is she the one being watched?

SET ON THE YORKSHIRE MOORS IN THE 1800S, THE BLACK FEATHERS IS A GHOSTLY TALE OF MAGIC AND WICKEDNESS.

Pre-order here*

A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke

Published October 12th by Harper Collins UK
Gothic Fiction, Mystery, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Supernatural Fiction, Ghost Story, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Something has walked the floors of the Ormen for over a century.

Something that craves revenge…

1901. On board the Ormen, a whaling ship battling through the unforgiving North Sea, Nicky Duthie awakes. Attacked and dragged there against her will, it’s just her and the crew – and they’re all owed something only she can give them.

1973. Decades later, when the ship is found still drifting across the ocean, it’s deserted. Just one body is left on board, his face and feet mutilated, his cabin locked from the inside. Everyone else has vanished.

Now, as urban explorer Dominique travels into the near-permanent darkness of the northernmost tip of Iceland, to the final resting place of the Ormen’s wreck, she’s determined to uncover the ship’s secrets.

But she’s not alone. Something is here with her. And it’s seeking revenge…

‘Rich, chilling and gorgeously gothic. A Haunting in the Arctic is the kind of enchanting, terrifying mystery I just adore’ Chris Whitaker

Pre-order here*

The Hurrican eWars by Thea Guanzon

Published October 12th by HarperVoyagerUK
Fantasy Fiction, Romantic Fantasy, Romance Novel, Hight Fantasy, War Story

SYNOPSIS:
THE EPIC ENEMIES-TO LOVERS FANTASY THAT WILL TAKE THE WORLD BY STORM

All Talasyn has ever known are the Hurricane Wars. An orphan of the struggle, she uses the power of light to fight for her people against the Night Empire.

All Alaric has ever known is darkness. The son of the Night Emperor and their deadliest weapon, he wields terrifying shadow magic to crush the rebellion.

Then he sees Talasyn, his sworn enemy burning bright across the battlefield. The moment they clash their lives are changed forever.

Now a greater threat is rising and only they can stop it.

The coming storm threatens to destroy everything. If they don’t destroy each other first . . .

Pre-order here*

The Beaver Theory (Rabbit Factor Trilogy 3) by Antti Tuomainen

Published October 12th by Orenda Books
Mystery, Thriller, Dark Comedy, Noir Fiction, Horror Fiction, Book Series, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Can everyone’s favourite insurance mathematician, Henri, combine the increasingly dangerous world of adventure parks with the unpredictability of blended-family life? He’s about to find out in the final instalment of the hilarious, nail-biting Rabbit Factor Trilogy.
 
Henri Koskinen, intrepid insurance mathematician and adventure-park entrepreneur, firmly believes in the power of common sense and order. That is until he moves in with painter Laura Helanto and her daughter…
 
As Henri realises he has inadvertently become part of a group of local dads, a competing adventure park is seeking to expand their operations, not always sticking to the law in the process…
 
Is it possible to combine the increasingly dangerous world of the adventure-park business with the unpredictability of life in a blended family? At first glance, the two appear to have only one thing in common: neither deals particularly well with a mounting body count.
 
In order to solve this seemingly impossible conundrum, Henri is forced to step far beyond the mathematical precision of his comfort zone … and the stakes have never been higher… 
 
Warmly funny, quirky, touching, and a nail-biting triumph of a thriller, The Beaver Theory is the final instalment in the award-winning Rabbit Factor Trilogy, as Henri encounters the biggest challenge of his career, with hair-raising results…

Pre-order here

White As Snow (An Arora Investigation Valume 3) by Lilja Sigurdadottir

Published October 12th by Orenda
Mystery, Thriller, Hardboiled, Police FictionBook Series, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Daníel and Áróra hunt a brutal killer when a shipping container with the bodies of five women is found outside Reykjavik, as Áróra continues the search for her missing sister. Book three in the addictive, chilling An Áróra Investigation series.
 
On a snowy winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is discovered near Reykjavík. Inside are the bodies of five young women – one of them barely alive.
 
As Icelandic Police detective Daníel struggles to investigate the most brutal crime of his career, Áróra looks into the background of a suspicious man, who turns out to be engaged to Daníel’s former wife, and the connections don’t stop there…
 
Daníel and Áróra’s cases pit them both against ruthless criminals with horrifying agendas, while Áróra persists with her search for her missing sister, Ísafold, whose devastating disappearance continues to haunt her.
 
As the temperature drops and the 24-hour darkness and freezing snow hamper their efforts, their investigations become increasingly dangerous … for everyone.
 
Atmospheric, twisty and breathtakingly tense, White as Snow is the third instalment in the riveting, award-winning An Áróra Investigation series, as crimes committed far beyond Iceland’s shores come home…
 
Shortlisted for The Blood Drop – Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year, 2022

Pre-order here*

Geneva by Richard Armitage

Published October 12th by Faber & Faber
Suspense, Thriller, Mystery, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘An outstanding debut – ingenious, fast-paced and unpredictable.’ HARLAN COBEN
‘An atmospheric, icily tense thriller.’ Telegraph
‘Geneva is one of the best thrillers I’ve ever read. And I’ve read quite a few.’ A. J. FINN

A SPECTACULAR DESTINATION THRILLER WITH HEART

Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sarah Collier has started to show the same tell-tale signs of Alzheimer’s disease as her father: memory loss, even blackouts. So she is reluctant to accept the invitation to be the guest of honour at a prestigious biotech conference – until her husband Daniel, a neuroscientist, persuades her that the publicity storm will be worth it. The technology being unveiled at this conference could revolutionise medicine forever. More than that, it could save Sarah’s life.

In Geneva, the couple are feted as stars – at least, Sarah is. But behind the five-star luxury, investors are circling, controversial blogger Terri Landau is all over the story, and Sarah’s symptoms are getting worse. As events begin to spiral out of control, Sarah can’t be sure who to trust – including herself.

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Family Meal by Bryan Washington

Published October 12th by Atlantic Books
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Gay Romance

SYNOPSIS:
Growing up , TJ was Cam’s boy next door. When Cam needed a home, TJ’s parents – Mae and Jin – took him in. Their family bakery became Cam’s safe place. Until he left, and it wasn’t anymore.

Years later, Cam’s world is falling apart. The love of his life, Kai, is gone: but his ghost keeps haunting Cam, and won’t let go. And Cam’s not sure he wants to let go, not sure he’s ready. When he has a chance to return to his home town, to work in a gay bar clinging on in a changing city landscape, he takes it. Back in the same place as TJ, they circle each other warily, their banter electric with an undercurrent of betrayal, drawn together despite past and current drama. Family is family. But TJ is no longer the same person Cam left behind; he’s had his own struggles. The quiet, low-key, queer kid, the one who stayed home, TJ’s not sure how to navigate Cam – utterly cool, completely devastated and self-destructing – crashing back into his world.

When things said – or left unsaid – become so insurmountable that they devour us from within, hope and sustenance and friendship can come from the most unlikely source. Nourishment has many forms: eating croissants, sitting together at a table with bowls of curry, sharing history, confronting demons, growing flowers, showing up. This is a story about how the people who know us the longest can hurt us the most, but how they also set the standard for love, and by their necessary presence, create a family.

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The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

Published October 12th by Bantam
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance Novel, Humorous Fciton

SYNOPSIS:
‘I’ll drop anything for a new Sophie Kinsella. The Burnout is hilarious, sparky and joyful – just the book you need if you’re desperate for a break’ BETH O’LEARY

‘I devoured The Burnout in one greedy gulp. Funny, sad, relatable, and so brilliantly done. Sophie Kinsella is the queen of romantic comedy’ JOJO MOYES

‘The Burnout is a glorious off-season holiday love story that will sweep you off your feet. Funny, feelgood, touching and full of the bittersweet, incisive wit that puts every Sophie Kinsella novel in a league of its own. I could not have loved it more.’ LISA JEWELL


The irresistible new romantic comedy from the number one bestselling author. Discover the joy that awaits when you set yourself free…

Sasha is well and truly over it all: work (all-consuming), friendships (on the back burner), sex-life (non-existent). Sasha has hit a brick wall.

Armed with good intentions to drink kale smoothies, try yoga and find solitude, she heads to the Devon resort she loved as a child. But it’s off-season, the hotel is falling apart and now she has to share the beach with someone else: a grumpy, stressed-out guy called Finn. How can she commune with nature when he’s sitting on a rock, watching her? Especially when they don’t agree on burnout cures. (Sasha: manifesting, wild swimming, secret Mars bars; Finn: drinking whisky.)

But when curious messages start appearing on the beach, Sasha and Finn are forced to begin talking – about everything. What’s the mystery? Why are they both burned out? What exactly is ‘manifesting’, anyway?

They might discover that they have more in common than they think…

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A Winter in New York by Josie Silver

Published October 12th by Viking
Contemporary Fiction, Romance Novel

SYNOPSIS:
‘Joyous, uplifting and heart-racingly romantic. I devoured it. You’ll find me in Little Italy licking gelato off a hot Italian stallion’s chest’ Cathy Bramley

—–

Where better to start again than New York?

Iris arrives in the city of dreams, intent on restarting her culinary career, and leaving her recent heartache behind.

Wandering the streets at a famous food festival, Iris feels like she’s living in a movie. Then she stumbles upon a gelateria that looks strangely familiar. Inside, she meets Gio: a perfect leading man with an irresistible smile – and a crisis of his own.

As fate would have it, Iris is the one person with the answer to his problem. She just can’t tell him that . . .

So, can Iris finally let go of the past – and let herself fall in love?

A sumptuously cosy seasonal love story set in sparkling New York, from the queen of the ‘what if?’ romance Josie Silver.

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My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers

Published October 12th by Head of Zeus
Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Paranormal Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
Howarth, 1846. The edge of the Yorkshire moors.

Here, in solitude, live a widowed parish priest and his family: three daughters and their single brother.

Though the future will celebrate the three daughters, right now they are unknown, their genius concealed. In just a few short years, they will all be dead.

And it will be middle daughter Emily’s chance encounter with a grievously wounded man on the moor that sets them on the path to their doom.

My Brother’s Keeper introduces an ancient secret haunting the moors, a dark inheritance in the family bloodline and something terrible buried under an ogham-inscribed slab in the church.

An atmospheric, claustrophobic gothic novel from a revered fantasy author… featuring… have you not guessed yet?

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Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead

Published October 12th by Head of Zeus
Thriller, Psychological Thriller

SYNOPSIS:
From TikTok sensation Ashley Winstead comes her newest thriller. For fans of Verity and A Flicker in the Dark, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is a twisted tale of murder, obsessive love, and the beastly urges that lie dormant within us all…

In her small hometown, librarian Ruth Cornier has always felt like an outsider, even as her beloved father rains fire-and-brimstone warnings from the pulpit at Holy Fire Baptist. Unfortunately for Ruth, the only things the townspeople fear more than the God and the Devil are the myths that haunt the area, like the story of the Low Man, a vampiric figure said to steal into sinners’ bedrooms and kill them on moonless nights. When a skull is found deep in the swamp next to mysterious carved symbols, Bottom Springs is thrown into uproar?and Ruth realizes only she and Everett, an old friend with a dark past, have the power to comb the town’s secret underbelly in search of true evil.

A dark and powerful novel like fans have come to expect from Ashley Winstead, Midnight is the Darkest Hour is an examination of the ways we’ve come to expect love, religion, and stories to save us, the lengths we have to go to in order to take back power, and the monstrous work of being a girl in this world.

‘Where The Crawdads Sing meets Twilight meets Thelma and Louise in this brilliantly realized, totally original thriller. Absolutely sensational! I couldn’t put it down.’ Clare Mackintosh, New York Times bestselling author

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Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam

Published October 12th by Baskerville
Historical Fition, Gothic Fiction,Thriller, Historical Fantasy, Contemporary Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
‘An exquisitely written work of Caledonian gothic’ Francine Toon, author of Pine

‘A darkly sparkling jewel of a book’ Kirsty Logan, author of Now She is Witch

Edinburgh, 1923.

Evelyn Hazard is a young woman living a comfortable and unremarkable middle-class life. One day, her quiet existence is shattered when her steady, reliable husband Robert makes a startling announcement: he can communicate with the dead.

As the couple are pulled into the spiritualist movement that emerged following the mass deaths caused by the First World War and the Spanish Flu, Evelyn’s life becomes increasingly unsettled as dark secrets from her past threaten to surface.

Faced with the prospect of losing all that is dear to her, Evelyn finds herself asking: is the man she loves a fraud, a madman or – most frighteningly – is he telling the truth?

A gothic literary mystery, written in sparkling prose, Hazardous Spirits evokes the spirit of 1920s Edinburgh, in all its bohemian vibrancy.

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A Midwinter’s Tail by Lili Hayward

Published October 12th by Sphere
Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fairy Tales, Myths & Fairy Tales

SYNOPSIS:
A town in need.
An extraordinary cat.
A season for miracles…

It’s nearly Christmas and committed Londoner, Mina Kestle, is close to signing a deal that will make her career and give her everything she’s ever wanted. And then she receives a mysterious letter in the post along with an ancient key, sent by her long-estranged godfather . . .

Davy Penhallow is an artist who lives on the tiny Cornish island of Morgelyn with only his pet cat, Murr, for company. Mina hasn’t seen or heard from him in decades, but now it seems he wants her to look after his cottage – and his cat – while he recovers from a stroke in hospital. Mina doesn’t know why Davy has written after all these years, but she intends to do what’s right: sort out the cottage and the cat and then get back to London in time for her career-saving meeting, before everything she’s built comes crashing down around her.

But the more time Mina spends in the cottage, looking after Murr and remembering the magic of Cornish folklore, the harder it becomes for her to tear herself away. And when she discovers that a set of ruthless property developers are coming for Morgelyn, she realises she might be the only one who can stand in their way to save the island, Davy’s cottage and Murr’s home.

As Christmas draws ever closer and echoes of the past – her own and the island’s – wash up in her memory, Mina begins to unravel a generation of secrets… and discover what it is she has truly always wanted . . .

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Mrs Sidhu’s Dead and Scone by Suk Pannu

Published October 12th by Harper Collins UK
Cozy Mystery, Thriller, Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
The debut cosy culinary crime thriller from Suk Pannu, creator of BBC Radio 4’s Mrs Sidhu Investigates and writer for Goodness, Gracious, Me and five series of the Emmy Award winning Kumars at No. 42

Mrs. Sidhu – unofficial Aunty to everyone, caterer, and amateur sleuth from Slough – spices up the lives of Berkshire’s elite with both her mouth-watering dishes and her sharp detective skills. But when she stirs up trouble among the rich and ruthless, she finds herself an outsider in her own community.

Banished to the kitchen by her boss and sentenced to an endless loop of aubergine bhajis, Mrs. Sidhu seizes the opportunity to whip up a new recipe for success – getting a job as a private chef at an exclusive celebrity rehab retreat. But when a therapist is found dead in the quiet village, Mrs Sidhu’s appetite for mystery is rekindled.

As the plot thickens, it becomes clear that the killer is picking victims through a twisted raffle at the village fete. Is a vengeful spirit returning to exact a horrifying revenge, or is there an impostor among the residents hiding a deadly secret?

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The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

Published October 12th by Transworld
Historical Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Short Stories, Translated Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The uplifting new Japanese cat novel from the million-copy bestselling author of The Travelling Cat Chronicles

THE PERFECT READ FOR CAT LOVERS

‘Quirky and life-enhancing’ THE TIMES Biggest Books of the Autumn 2023
_____________________
Against changing seasons in Japan, seven cats weave their way through their owners’ lives.

– A needy kitten rescued from the recycling bin teaches a new father how to parent his own human baby
– An elderly cat hatches a plan to pass into the next world as a spirit so that he and his owner may be together for ever
– A colony of wild cats on a holiday island shows a young boy not to stand in nature’s way
– A family is perplexed by their cat’s devotion to their charismatic but uncaring father
– A woman curses how her cat constantly visits her at night

Bursting with empathy and love, THE GOODBYE CAT explores the unstoppable cycle of life as we see how the steadiness and devotion of a well-loved cat never lets us down.

A huge bestseller in Japan, every page is a joyous celebration of cats and how we cannot resist sharing our lives with them.

‘A book for every cat lover. An enchanting insight into the mysterious world of cats and their humans’ CELIA HADDON, author of Being Your Cat

Pre-order here*

The Exchange by John Grisham

Published Octber 17th by Hodder & Stoughton
Thriller, Legal Thriller, Suspense, Contemporary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
***THE BIGGEST GRISHAM IN OVER A DECADE***

The Exchange is John Grisham’s epic follow-up to his phenomenal global bestseller The Firm, the novel that launched his career as the world’s favourite storyteller – it will take you on a rollercoaster journey across the globe, from New York to London, and Rome to Marrakech.

TEN DAYS TO SAVE A LIFE. ONE SECOND TO END IT.

Mitch McDeere has cheated death and come out the other side. Fifteen years ago, he stole $10 million from the mob and disappeared. Now, with his enemies jailed or dead, he has fought his way to the top of the biggest law firm in the world.

When a new case takes Mitch to Libya, danger awaits: he’s soon in the biggest hostage negotiation in recent history with terrorists who have murdered and will murder again. Their demand is staggering: a ransom of $100 million must be paid within 10 days.

But this isn’t a random kidnapping – it’s personal. And no one, not even Mitch’s wife in New York, is safe.

With the clock ticking, can Mitch stay one step ahead of his enemies?
This time, there’s nowhere to hide.

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The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

Published October 17th by Quercus
Contemporary Fantasy, Suspense, Magical Realism, Fairy Tales, Myths & Fairy Tales

SYNOPSIS:
With The Unmaking of June Farrow, Adrienne Young delivers a brilliant story with romance, mystery, and a touch of the impossible: a story you will never forget.

In the small mountain town of Jasper, North Carolina, June Farrow is waiting for fate to find her. The Farrow women are known for their thriving flower farm – and the mysterious curse that has haunted them for generations.

The madness that led to Susanna Farrow’s disappearance left her daughter, June, to be raised by her grandmother. Everyone in Jasper is certain it’s only a matter of time before she finds the same end, but June has kept secret that her unravelling has already begun.

After her grandmother’s death, June follows a series of clues that link her mother’s disappearance to the town’s dark history, leading finally to a mysterious door.

Behind it may lay the answer to the mysteries that have always lingered like a dark shadow. Upon crossing the threshold, June embarks on a journey that will not only change both the past and the future, but entangle her fate and her heart in a star-crossed love.

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The Winter Spirits : Ghostly Tales for Frosty Nights by Various

Published October 19th by Sphere
Historical Fiction, Short Stories

SYNOPSIS:
FROM THE CREATORS OF THE HAUNTING SEASON COMES A DAZZLING COLLECTION OF NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN GHOSTLY TALES.

‘Terrific – every bit as good as an MR James collection’ ROSIE ANDREWS, author of THE LEVIATHAN

Featuring new and original stories from:

Bridget Collins, author of The Binding
Imogen Hermes Gowar, author of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock
Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
Andrew Michael Hurley, author of The Loney
Jess Kidd, author of Things in Jars
Natasha Pulley, author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street
Elizabeth Macneal, author of The Doll Factory
Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions
Susan Stokes Chapman, author of Pandora
Laura Shepherd-Robinson, author of The Square of Sevens
Stuart Turton, author of The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Catriona Ward, author of The Last House on Needless Street

The tradition of a haunted tale at Christmas has flourished across the centuries. These twelve stories – authored by some of today’s most loved and lauded writers of historical and gothic fiction – are all centred around Christmas or Advent, boldly and playfully re-imagining a beloved tradition for a modern audience.

Taking you from a haunted Tuscan villa to a remote Scottish island with a dark secret,, these vibrant haunted stories are your ultimate companion for frosty nights.

So curl up, light a candle, and fall under the spell of winters past . . .

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The Hidden Language of Cats by Dr. Sarah Brown

Published October 19th by Michael Joseph
Animal Behaviour, Biology

SYNOPSIS:
THIS BOOK TRANSLATES ALL THE MEOWS – IN CASE YOU MISSED ANYTHING

Descended from shy, solitary North African wild cats, domestic cats set up homes with devoted owners all over the world. But how did those wildcats of old creep into our homes and our hearts, convincing us to keep them warm, fed, and pampered? Quite simply, they learned to talk to us.

Renowned cat behaviour scientist Dr. Sarah Brown has been at the forefront of research in the field, discovering how cats use tail signals to interact with each other and their owners. Now she reveals the previously unexplored secrets of cat communication in a book that is both scientifically grounded and utterly delightful.

Each chapter dives into a different form of communication, including vocalisation, tail signals, scents, rubbing, and ear movements. The iconic meow, for example, is rarely used between adult cats – cleverly mimicking the cries of a human infant, the meow is in fact a feline invention for conversing with people.

Through observing the behavior of two cat colonies in rural England, readers will also have the opportunity to glimpse into the lives of some of the cats behind Dr. Brown’s science.

Can we understand what cats’ meows and other signals mean? How do cats actually perceive us? And how can we use this information to inform how we communicate with our feline friends? Referencing historical records, exploring modern scientific studies of cat-human communication, and including simple, elegant line drawings, The Hidden Language of Cats is perfect for any cat lover who wants to learn more about their companion.

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Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward

Published October 24th by Bloomsburty Publishing
Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The astonishing new novel from two-time National Book Award-winner Jesmyn Ward

‘Leaves you in awe of the human capacity to not only endure, but to ascend back to the light … Spectacular’
ANTHONY DOERR, author of All the Light We Cannot See

‘A stunning achievement. Will grip you from the first word to the last’
NATHAN HARRIS, author of The Sweetness of Water

Let Us Descend is a reimagining of American slavery, as beautifully rendered as it is heart-wrenching. Searching, harrowing, replete with transcendent love, the novel is a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the slave markets of New Orleans and into the fearsome heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation.

Annis, sold south by the white enslaver who fathered her, is the reader’s guide through this hellscape. As she struggles through the miles-long march, Annis turns inward, seeking comfort from memories of her mother and stories of her African warrior grandmother. Throughout, she opens herself to a world beyond this world, one teeming with spirits: of earth and water, of myth and history; spirits who nurture and give, and those who manipulate and take. While Ward leads readers through the descent, this, her fourth novel, is ultimately a story of rebirth and reclamation.

From one of the most singularly brilliant and beloved writers of her generation, this miracle of a novel inscribes Black American grief and joy into the very land – the rich but unforgiving forests, swamps, and rivers of the American South. Let Us Descend is Jesmyn Ward’s most magnificent novel yet, a masterwork for the ages.

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A Curse For True Love (Once Upon A Broken Heart 3) by Stephanie Garber

Published October 24th by Hodder & Stoughton
Fantasy Fiction, Epic Fantsy, Fairy Tales, Folklore, Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.

Pre-order here*

West Heart Kill by Dann McDorman

Published October 24th by Raven Books
Mystery, Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Hardboiled

SYNOPSIS:
‘Engrossing, surprising, clever, genre-bending’ Val McDermid
‘A remarkable novel by a major talent…entirely unique’ Stuart Turton

‘Any respectable practitioner must follow the rules in making the truth – however skilfully camouflaged by lies – accessible to all’

It’s the Fourth of July weekend at the prestigious West Heart country club. Gathered for cocktails on the first evening are just some of the guests: the club president, the treasurer and his pregnant wife, the snooping school boy, the bereaved father, the taciturn caretaker, the prospective member, the private detective…

And there will also be a body.

And a fiendish mystery to solve.

But everything else is to play for.

And you are about to find out that youhave a role to play in this mystery too..

West Heart Kill is an outrageously original and imaginative murder mystery that is both a love letter to the greats of classic crime fiction and a brilliant puzzle the likes of which you will never have read before.

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The Last Applicant by Rebecca Hanover

Published October 24th by Lake Union Publishing
Suspense, Psychologival Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From award-winning author Rebecca Hanover comes an emotional thrill ride about two women whose lives take a dangerous turn in the high-stakes arena of private school admissions.

Audrey Singer revels in her position as the admissions director of an exclusive Manhattan private school. Parents cater to her whims and desires, desperate to give their children an edge. Audrey’s power is undeniable; privilege comes with the territory. Her perfect marriage completes the glossy picture of her life.

Until the arrival of the neurotic, vulnerable Sarah Price. Determined to get her son into the city’s most coveted kindergarten class, Sarah inserts herself into Audrey’s world, testing boundaries at every turn. For Sarah, everything Audrey has is a potential target: her job, her friends…even her marriage.

But what seems to be another ploy by an overachieving mother takes a dark and ominous turn. Sarah seems to be hiding secrets of her own. Are her designs on Audrey’s life purely about getting what she wants for her son?

Or is there something more sinister at play in this cutthroat game?

Pre-order here*

The Christmas Appeal by Janice Hallett

Published October 26th by Viper Books
Mystery, Thriller, Cozy Mystery, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
* THE CAST OF SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING THE APPEAL RETURN FOR A FESTIVE MURDER MYSTERY *
* FROM THE WINNER OF THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS CRIME AND THRILLER BOOK OF THE YEAR *

One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth?

Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up.

Of course there’s also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on?

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The Twelve Days of Murder by Andreina Cordani

Published October 26th by Zaffre
Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Cozy Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
Find the truth. Solve the murder. Never reveal your secret.

Twelve years ago, eight friends ran an exclusive group at university: The Murder Masquerade Society. The mysteries they solved may have been grisly, but they were always fictional – until their final Christmas Masquerade, when one of the group disappeared, never to be seen again.

Twelve years later, the remaining members of the group receive an invitation to a reunion masquerade, to be held in a beautiful and remote country house in Scotland. When they arrive they are each assigned a new identity themed around the Twelve Days of Christmas – they become Lady Partridge or Mr Gold; Lord Leapworth or Doctor Swan. The game begins, and it feels just like old times.

Until the next morning, when Lady Partridge is found hanging from a pear tree.

It quickly becomes clear that in this game, the murder will be all too real, and the story is bringing long-hidden secrets to the surface. If they hope to win the game and survive the festive season then they will need to face the truth about their history together, who they have become – and what really happened on that fateful night twelve years before.

Pre-order here*

The Wayward Sisters by Kate Hodges

Published October 26th by Hodder & Stoughton
Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction, HIstorical Fantasy, Supernatural Fiction, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Inverness, 1769.

On a freezing winter’s night, astronomer Nancy Lockaby arrives at Blackthistle House, home to renowned, enigmatic Shakespeare scholar Caleb Malles.

When, a month before, Nancy received an invitation from Caleb to leave her position at the Royal Observatory and join him as a research fellow, she saw the opportunity to leave behind a past riddled with tragedy – and to find adventure and freedom in Scotland.

In her new home, Nancy initially finds herself captivated by Caleb’s eccentric mind and deep passion for Macbeth. So, when she crosses paths with three old crones who reveal that Caleb is keeping secrets from her, she is dismissive – after all, the women also claim to have lived many centuries and possess powers that defy any logical reasoning.

Yet as Caleb’s behaviour becomes more erratic, she begins to suspect that the mysterious scholar might have had hidden motives to lure her into his home. But can Nancy trust these three strange women when they warn her that if she doesn’t uncover Caleb’s true intentions, great danger awaits them all?

Offering a fresh, feminist perspective on literature’s most infamous trio, The Wayward Sisters is an enthralling, intricately woven story of friendship, intrigue and magic.

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Saturnalia by Stephanie Feldman

Published October 26th by Verve Books
Literary Fiction, Contemporary Fcition, Thriller, Horror Fiction, Paranormal Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Doors open at 7. The sacrifice is at 9. The dress code is, as usual, black tie.

It’s the winter solstice in a Philadelphia that has been eroded by extreme weather, economic collapse, and disease-carrying mosquitoes. The Saturnalia carnival is about to begin – an evening on which nearly everyone, rich or poor, forgets their troubles for a moment.

For Nina, Saturnalia is simply a cruel reminder of the night that changed everything for her. It’s now three years since she walked away from the elite Saturn Club, with its genteel debauchery, arcane pecking order, and winking interest in alchemy and the occult. Since then, she’s led an isolated life, eking out a living telling fortunes with her Saturn Club tarot deck.

But when she gets a chance call from Max, her last remaining friend from the Saturn Club, Nina will put on a dress of blackest black and attend the Club’s wild solstice masquerade, the biggest party of the year, on a mysterious errand she can’t say no to.

Before the night is over, she will become the custodian of a horrifying secret – and the target of a mysterious hunter.

As Nina runs across an alternate Philadelphia balanced on a knife’s edge between celebration and catastrophe – through parades, worship houses, museums, hidden mansions, and the place she once called home – she’s forced to confront her past so she can finally take charge of her own, and perhaps everyone else’s, future.

A wholly original blend of feminism, cli-fi, suspense and magical realism, Saturnalia is a story about environmental collapse and class warfare, trauma and rebirth, and magic – the extraordinary, ancient magic of alchemy and the ordinary, timeless magic of bravery and forgiveness.

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Too Far (Blacklist 2) by Sylvia Day

Published October 26th by Michael Joseph
Romance Fiction, Romantic Comedy, Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Book Series

SYNOPSIS:
From the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Crossfire saga comes the conclusion of a twisty tale of three women fighting to outrun their pasts-one for love, one for power and one for revenge.

Lily Black was presumed dead for years.

Now, she’s back in the unquestioning arms of her loving husband, Kane.

Where she’s been remains a mystery, but her past sins haunt her and bring deadly danger into the lives of the family.

Meanwhile Aliyah, Kane’s mother, has worked hard for her position of power. She has never believed Lily is who she says she is, and will stop at nothing to expose her.

Amy, Kane’s sister-in-law, has always been a pawn in the dangerous games this family plays. But she knows she deserves more, and will do anything to claim the biggest prize.

Three women fight to outrun their pasts.

But could they have more in common than they think?

Pre-order here*

Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-reum

Published October 26th by Bloomsbury Publishing
Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
There was only one thing on her mind.

‘I must start a bookshop.’

Yeongju did everything she was supposed to, go to university, marry a decent man, get a respectable job. Then it all fell apart. Burned out, Yeongju abandons her old life, quits her high-flying career, and follows her dream. She opens a bookshop.

In a quaint neighbourhood in Seoul, surrounded by books, Yeongju and her customers take refuge. From the lonely barista to the unhappily married coffee roaster, and the writer who sees something special in Yeongju – they all have disappointments in their past. The Hyunam-dong Bookshop becomes the place where they all learn how to truly live.

A heart-warming story about finding comfort and acceptance in your life – and the healing power of books.

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Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan

Published by October 26th by Sphere
Romance Novel, Romantic Comedy, Holiday Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Wrap up warm and watch the snowflakes fall, the Christmas bookshop welcomes you home…
_______________

The brand new feel-good Christmas novel from Sunday Times top ten bestselling author, Jenny Colgan.

Carmen is at a loose end. Her gorgeous bookshop is the filming site of a cheesy Christmas movie, she’s been ousted from her sister’s house, and the love of her life has just flown thousands of miles away. It’s threatening to be a very unjolly Christmas indeed!

But when the elderly owner of the shop comes to Carmen with a Christmas wish that threatens to never come true, Carmen knows she must buckle down to get the funds to save not only his trip, but the shop itself. While fending off a shady tatt-selling businessman, Carmen discovers wonders to the shop she could have never imagined, and opens a labyrinth of bookish backrooms for the customers to get lost in.

With her deadline looming, it might take more than a fresh coat of paint to solve Carmen’s problems. But with the help of their neighbours, her nieces and nephew, and a very distractingly cute male nanny, Carmen might just pull her greatest magic trick yet…

Pre-order here*

The Snow Girl by Sophie Anderson

Published October 26th by Usborne Publishing
Young Adult Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
From award-winning and critically acclaimed Sophie Anderson, comes a fairy-tale story of friendship, belonging and bravery, in an adventure through a winter wonderland. The perfect read for the whole family this Christmas.

I wish the snow girl would come to life. Then I would have a friend, a real friend I could trust, and I wouldn’t feel so alone.

When Tasha builds a snow girl with her grandpa, all she wants is for her to be real. If only wishes on snow could come true… Then Tasha meets Alyana, a friend made of wishes, starlight, snowfall and magic. But when your best friend is made of winter, what do you do when spring comes?

Pre-order here*

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory

Published October 26th by William Collins
Historical Biographies

SYNOPSIS:
FROM THE MULTI-MILLION BESTSELLING HISTORICAL NOVELIST COMES THE CULMINATION OF HER LIFE’S WORK.

Normal Women is a radical retelling of our nation’s story – not of the rise and fall of kings and the occasional queen – but of social and cultural change, powered by the determination, persistence and effectiveness of women– from 1066 to modern times.

Did women really do nothing to shape England’s culture and traditions in nine centuries of turmoil, plague, famine, religious reform and the rise of empire and industry? Philippa Gregory answers this question with accounts of female soldiers, guild widows, highwaywomen, pirates, miners and ship owners, international traders, theatre impresarios, runaway enslaved women, ‘female husbands’, social campaigners and rebels. These individuals, and the prejudice they faced, built our society to be as diverse and varied as the women themselves. This is not another book about three or four well-known heroines; it is a book about millions of women: those who left records and those who were ‘hidden from history.’

The ‘normal women’ you will meet in these pages rode in jousts, flew Spitfires, issued their own currency, and built ships, corn mills and houses as part of their everyday lives. They went to war, ploughed the fields, campaigned, wrote, and loved. They committed crimes, or treason, worshipped many gods, cooked and nursed, invented things and rioted. A lot.

A landmark work of scholarship and storytelling, this is a history, not a call to action. It looks back at the past lives of half the population – without the judgemental gaze of the present; telling of women who did not want the vote, as well as those that did, those that wanted to be idle at home as well as those who fought for freedom. It is not – it cannot be – a celebration of women’s ‘rise’; because women are still not yet equal. But by spotlighting women’s presence, in the shadows of men’s history, it puts women where they belong – centre stage.

Pre-order here*

Sweetpea by C. J. Skuse (Sweetpea Series Book 1)

Re-issued October 26th by HQ
Thriller, Mystery, Dark Comedy, Suspense, Psychological Fiction, Police Procedural, Crime Series, Humorous Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
‘If you like your thrillers darkly comic and outrageous this ticks all the boxes’ The Sun

The last person who called me ‘Sweetpea’ ended up dead…

’I haven’t killed anyone for three years and I thought that when it happened again I’d feel bad. Like an alcoholic taking a sip of whisky. But no. Nothing. I had a blissful night’s sleep. Didn’t wake up at all. And for once, no bad dream either. This morning I feel balanced. Almost sane, for once.’

Rhiannon is your average girl next door, settled with her boyfriend and little dog…but she’s got a killer secret.

Although her childhood was haunted by a famous crime, Rhinannon’s life is normal now that her celebrity has dwindled. By day her job as an editorial assistant is demeaning and unsatisfying. By evening she dutifully listens to her friend’s plans for marriage and babies whilst secretly making a list.

A kill list.

From the man on the Lidl checkout who always mishandles her apples, to the driver who cuts her off on her way to work, to the people who have got it coming, Rhiannon’s ready to get her revenge.

Because the girl everyone overlooks might be able to get away with murder…

Pre-order here*

Hunger Games: The Deluxe Collection by Suzanne Collins

Published October 26th by Scholastic
Young Adult Fiction, Science Fiction, Thriller, Adventure Fiction, Alternative History, Dystopian Fiction, Children’s Literature

SYNOPSIS:
This beautiful deluxe hardcover box set includes all three books in Suzanne Collins’s internationally bestselling Hunger Games trilogy together with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

With brand new artwork by Freya Betts: this is a must-have collection for all fans of this groundbreaking, phenomenally bestselling series.

There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV…

And the odds are against all who play.

  • With all four of Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games novels in one box set, you can step into the world of Panem with the 10th annual Hunger Games, and continue all the way to the electrifying conclusion.
  • All four books have been made into feature films, the first three starring Jennifer Lawence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Stanley Tucci, Elizabeth Banks and Donald Sutherland.
  • The fourth movie of The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, is released November 2023 and has an all-star cast including Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage.

BOOKS INCLUDED IN THE BOXSET

  • The Hunger Games
  • Catching Fire
  • Mockingjay
  • The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

ABOUT THE NEW COVERS

To celebrate the release of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes feature film, Freya Betts has taken the four iconic logos and added a modern twist.

Freya is a UK based freelance illustrator who focuses on hyper-realistic portraiture, mainly in the medium of digital painting. She has worked predominantly in the film industry – her journey beginning with an apprenticeship at age 18, art-working film campaigns for Universal and Paramount in London.
Now she finds herself illustrating film posters for Disney and Marvel, her work has appeared everywhere from giant murals in New York to t-shirts in H&M. Clients include: Disney, Netflix, Marvel, Apple TV, Uber, Royal Mail, The LA Times

Pre-order here*

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Published October 31st by Tor
Fantasy Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Gothic Fairytale, Dark Fiction, Contemporary Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Myth & Fairy Tales

SYNOPSIS:
‘Alix E. Harrow is an exceptional, undeniable talent’ – Olivie Blake

Step into Starling House – if you dare . . . Alix E. Harrow reimagines Beauty and the Beast in this gorgeously modern gothic fantasy, perfect for fans of V.E. Schwab and Naomi Novik.

Nobody in Eden remembers when Starling House was built. But the town agrees it’s best to let this ill-omened mansion – and its last lonely heir – go to hell. Stories of the house’s bad luck, like good china, have been passed down the generations.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses, or brooding men. But when an opportunity to work there arises, the money might get her brother out of Eden. Starling House is uncanny and full of secrets – just like Arthur, its heir. It also feels strangely, dangerously, like something she’s never had: a home. Yet Opal isn’t the only one interested in the horrors and the wonders that lie buried beneath it.

Sinister forces converge on Eden – and Opal realizes that if she wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it. Even if it involves digging up her family’s ugly past to achieve a better future. She’ll have to go down, deep down beneath Starling House, to claw her way back to the light . . .

This is a romantic and spellbinding Gothic fairytale from Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award-shortlisted Alix E. Harrow.

Pre-order here*

Edith Holler by Edward Carey

Pubished October 31st by Riverhead Books
Historical Fiction, Gothic Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The witty and entrancing story of a young woman trapped in a ramshackle English playhouse–and the mysterious figure who threatens the its very survival

The year is 1901. England’s beloved queen has died, and her aging son has finally taken the throne. In the eastern city of Norwich, bright and inquisitive young Edith Holler spends her days among the boisterous denizens of the Holler Theatre, warned by her domineering father that the playhouse will literally tumble down if she should ever leave its confines. Fascinated by tales of the city she knows only from afar, she decides to write a play of her own: a stage adaptation of the legend of Mawther Meg, a monstrous figure said to have used the blood of countless children to make the local delicacy known as Beetle Spread. But when her father suddenly announces his engagement to a peculiar, imposing woman named Margaret Unthank, heir to the actual Beetle Spread fortune, Edith scrambles to protect her father, the theatre, and her play–the one thing that’s truly hers–from the newcomer’s sinister designs.

Teeming with unforgettable characters and illuminated by the author’s trademark fantastical illustrations, Edith Holler is a surprisingly modern fable of one young woman’s struggle to escape her family’s control–and to reveal inconvenient truths about the way children are used.

Pre-order here

********

Categories
Emma's Anticipated Treasures

Emma’s Anticipated Treasures – November 2022

We’re edging closer to the end of the year and the number of releases is slowling down a little, but there are still a number of exciting books to look forward to. Here are the ones I’m most excited about being released next month.

The Prisoner by B. A. Paris

Published: November 3rd
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense

SYNOPSIS:
Secrets. Suspicion. Survival.
No one writes relationships better than B.A. PARIS

THEN

Amelie has always been a survivor, from losing her parents as a child in Paris to making it on her own in London. As she builds a career for herself in the magazine industry, she meets, and agrees to marry, Ned Hawthorne.

NOW

Amelie wakes up in a pitch-black room, not knowing where she is. Why has she been taken? Who are her mysterious captors? And why does she soon feel safer here, imprisoned, than she had begun to feel with her husband Ned?

In true B.A. Paris style, The Prisoner is a gripping survival story, a twisted love story and at its dark heart a thriller to keep you up all night.

Buy here*

The Book of the Most Precious Substance by Sara Gran

Published: November 3rd
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Genre: Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Paranormal Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A book with all of life’s answers, if only you can find it…

‘Extravagant, sexy and compelling. I loved it.’ LAUREN BEUKES

Rare book dealer Lily Albrecht has just been given a tip-off about The Book of the Most Precious Substance, a 17th century manual rumoured to be the most powerful occult book ever written, if it really exists at all.

With some of the wealthiest people in the world willing to pay Lily a fortune to track it down, she embarks on a journey from New York to New Orleans to Munich to Paris.

If she finds it, Lily stands to gain more than just money. This could erase the greatest tragedy of her life. But will Lily’s quest help her find some answers, or will she lose everything in search of a ghost?

Buy here*

The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix

Published: November 8th
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Fantasy Fiction, Dark Fantasy, High Fantasy

SYNOPSIS:
I am the monster. I am the shield. I am the knife in the dark.

Ranka is tired of death. All she wants now is to be left alone, living out her days in Witchik’s wild north with the coven that raised her, attempting to forget the horrors of her past. But when she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the human kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her south with a single directive: kill him. Easy enough, for a blood-witch whose magic compels her to kill.

Except the prince is gentle, kind, and terrified of her. He doesn’t want to marry Ranka; he doesn’t want to be king at all. And it’s his sister – the wickedly smart, infuriatingly beautiful Princess Aramis – who seems to be real threat.

But when witches start turning up dead, murdered by a mysterious, magical plague, Aramis makes Ranka an offer: help her develop a cure, and in return, she’ll teach Ranka to contain her deadly magic. But as the coup draws nearer and the plague spreads, Ranka is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her power, her past, and who she’s meant to fight for. Soon, she will have choose between the coven that raised her – and the princess who sees beyond the monster they shaped her to be. But as the bodies pile up, a monster may be exactly what they need.

Buy here*

Dawnlands by Philippa Gregory (Fairmile Series Book 3)

Published: November 8th
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Genre: Historical Fiction, Myths, Fairy Tale, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
The spellbinding Fairmile series continues as the fiercely independent Alinor and her family find themselves entangled in palace intrigue, political upheaval, and life-changing secrets in seventeenth-century England.

It is 1685, England is on the brink of a renewed civil war against the Stuart kings and many families are bitterly divided.  Ned Ferryman cannot persuade his sister Alinor that he is right to return from America with his Pokanoket servant Rowan to join the rebel army. Instead, Alinor has been coaxed by the manipulative Livia to save the queen from the coming siege. The rewards are life-changing: the family could return to their beloved Tidelands, and Alinor could rule where she was once lower than a servant.

Alinor’s son, Rob, is determined to stay clear of the war, but when he and his nephew set out to free Ned from execution for treason and Rowan from a convict deportation to Barbados, they find themselves enmeshed in the creation of an imposter Prince of Wales – a surrogate baby to the queen.

From the last battle in the desolate Somerset Levels to the hidden caves on the slave island of Barbados, this third volume of an epic story follows a family from one end of the empire to another, to find a new dawn in a world which is opening up before them with greater rewards and dangers than ever before.

Buy here*

Heart of the Sun Warrior by Sue Lynn Tan (The Celestial Kingdom Book 2)

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Harper Voyager UK
Genre: Fairy Tale, High Fantasy, Historical Fantasy, Myths & Legends, Fantasy Series

SYNOPSIS:
The stunning conclusion to the Celestial Kingdom Duology

An unspeakable terror is sweeping across the realm as the Celestial Emperor tightens his grip on power. The fragile peace Xingyin fought so hard for when freeing her mother is under threat.

Forced to flee her home, Xingyin ventures into the unexplored lands of the Immortal Realm to seek aid in her fight, but, with alliances shifting quicker than the tides, she has to overcome past grudges and enmities to forge a new path forward, seeking aid where she never imagined.

Xingyin must uncover the truth of her heart and claw her way through devastation – to rise against evil before it destroys everything she holds dear, and the worlds she has grown to love … even if doing so demands the greatest price of all.

The stunning sequel to the Sunday Times bestselling Daughter of the Moon Goddess delves deeper into beloved Chinese mythology, concluding the epic story of Xingyin – the daughter of Chang’e and the mortal archer Houyi – as she battles a grave new threat to the realm, in this powerful tale of love, sacrifice, and hope.

Buy here*

Murder on the Christmas Express by Alexandra Benedict

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction, Holiday Fiction, Adventure Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
**COULD YOU SOLVE THE CASE? PRE-ORDER NOW FOR THE PUZZLING CHRISTMAS MYSTERY OF THE YEAR**

Eighteen passengers. Seven stops. One killer.

In the early hours of Christmas Eve, the sleeper train to the Highlands is derailed, along with the festive plans of its travellers. With the train stuck in snow in the middle of nowhere, a killer stalks its carriages, picking off passengers one by one. Those who sleep on the sleeper train may never wake again.

Can former Met detective Roz Parker find the killer before they kill again?

All aboard for . . . Murder on the Christmas Express

Buy here*

The Pain Tourist by Paul Cleave

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Orenda Books
Genre: Thriller, Medical Thriller, Police Procedural

SYNOPSIS:
A young man wakes from a coma to find himself targeted by the men who killed his parents, while someone is impersonating a notorious New Zealand serial killer … the latest chilling, nerve-shredding, twisty thriller from the author of The Quiet People…

______________
 
James Garrett was critically injured when he was shot following his parents’ execution, and no one expected him to waken from a deep, traumatic coma. When he does, nine years later, Detective Inspector Rebecca Kent is tasked with closing the case that her now retired colleague, Theodore Tate, failed to solve all those years ago.
 
But between that, and hunting for Copy Joe – a murderer on a spree, who’s imitating Christchurch’s most notorious serial killer – she’s going to need Tate’s help … especially when they learn that James has lived out another life in his nine-year coma, and there are things he couldn’t possibly know, including the fact that Copy Joe isn’t the only serial killer in town…

Buy here

The Buried by Sharon Bolton

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Orion
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Horror Fiction, Crime Series

SYNOPSIS:
AN OLD ENEMY IS LAID TO REST . . . AND A NEW CRIME IS DISCOVERED

Florence Lovelady, the most senior serving policewoman in Britain, visits convicted serial killer Larry Glassbrook in prison. Larry is coming to the end of his life but has one last task for Florence: to learn the identity of the remains discovered at children’s home Black Moss Manor. The town Florence escaped narrowly with her life still holds many secrets. Will she finally learn the truth? Or will time run out for her first?

The latest Florence Lovelady thriller, set shortly after the bestselling first novel The Craftsman in the chilling, new series from Richard and Judy bestseller Sharon Bolton

Buy here*

The Picture Bride by Lee Guem-yi

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Scribe UK
Genre: Historical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Could you marry a man you’ve never met? Three Korean women in 1918 make a life-changing journey to Hawaii, where they will marry, having seen only photographs of their intended husbands.

Different fates await each of these women. Hong-ju, who dreams of a marriage of ‘natural love’, meets a man who looks twenty years older than his photograph; Song-hwa, who wants to escape from her life of ridicule as the granddaughter of a shaman, meets a lazy drunkard. And then there’s Willow, whose 26-year-old groom, Taewan, looks just like his image …

Real life doesn’t always resemble a picture, but there’s no going back. And while things don’t turn out quite as they’d hoped, even for Willow, they do find something that makes their journey worthwhile ― each other.

Buy here*

The Vicious Circle by Katherine St. John

Published: November 10th
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Adventure Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
For fans of Lucy Foley and Liane Moriarty, a twisty, escapist suspense about a mysterious retreat center harboring violent secrets.

A perfect paradise? Or a perfect nightmare?

On a river deep in the Mexican jungle stands the colossal villa Xanadu, a wellness center that’s home an ardent spiritual group devoted to self-help guru Paul Bentzen and his enigmatic wife Kali. But when Paul mysteriously dies, his entire estate—including Xanadu—is left not to Kali, but to his estranged niece Sveta.

Shocked and confused, Sveta travels from New York City to Mexico to pay her respects. At first, Xanadu seems like a secluded paradise with its tumbling gardens, beautiful people, and transcendent vibe. But soon the mystical façade wears thin, revealing a group of brainwashed members drunk on promises of an impossible utopia, guided by a disturbing belief system and a charismatic, dangerously capable leader.

As the sinister forces surrounding Sveta become apparent, she realizes, too late, she can’t escape. Frantic and terrified, she discovers her only chance of survival is to put her confidence in the very person she trusts the least. 

Buy here*

The Weather Woman by Sally Gardner

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Apollo
Genre: Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical Fantasy, Fantasy Fiction, Regency Romance

SYNOPSIS:
The rich and atmospheric new novel from prize-winning author Sally Gardner, set in the 18th century between the two great Frost Fairs.

Neva Friezland is born into a world of trickery and illusion, where fortunes can be won and lost on the turn of a card.

She is also born with an extraordinary gift. She can predict the weather. In Regency England, where the proper goal for a gentlewoman is marriage and only God knows the weather, this is dangerous. It is also potentially very lucrative.

In order to debate with the men of science and move about freely, Neva adopts a sophisticated male disguise. She foretells the weather from inside an automaton created by her brilliant clockmaker father.

But what will happen when the disguised Neva falls in love with a charismatic young man?

It can be very dangerous to be ahead of your time. Especially as a woman.

Buy here*

The People Before by Charlotte Northedge

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Harper Collikns UK
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Horror Fiction

SYNOPSIS:

What if your dream house became your worst nightmare?

Jess and her husband need a new start. So when the chance to buy a rambling old house in the Suffolk countryside comes up, they leap at it.

But not everyone in Suffolk is welcoming. The locals know a secret about the Maple House, and soon, Jess realises they’ve made a huge mistake.

Something bad happened in that house. Something nobody wants to talk about.

Something to do with the people before…

Buy here*

Murder Most Royal by S. J. Bennett (Her Majesty Investigates Book 3)

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Zaffre
Genre: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Cozy Mystery Series

SYNOPSIS:
THE ROYALLY BRILLIANT THIRD BOOK IN THE HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN INVESTIGATES MYSTERY SERIES
____________________

Christmas at Sandringham is going to be murder . . .

A human hand and a bag of drugs are found washed up on a beach next to the Queen’s estate at Sandringham

The Queen identifies the 70-year-old victim, Edward St Cyr, from his signet ring. But the search for his killer is not so straightforward. Suspects include the Queen’s horse groom, a shady land agent, an aristocrat neighbour, as well as the victim’s many cousins and relations.

The investigation leads the Queen – and her trusted assistant, Rozie – to a local pigeon racing club, back to London, and to the ancient, moated Godwick Hall. But how do the seemingly disparate pieces of the puzzle fit together? And who is the next victim?

Agatha Christie meets The Crown in MURDER MOST ROYAL, the much-anticipated third book in the ‘Her Majesty The Queen Investigates’ mystery series by SJ Bennett – for fans of The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Agatha Christie and M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin.

Buy here*

The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk

Published: November 10th
Publisher: Harper Collins UK
Genre: Romance Novel, Contemporary Romance, Humorous Fiction, Holiday Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Ever wished it could be Christmas every day?

Wish again…

Newly single lawyer Gwen Baker is hoping that a family Christmas – countryside, a mountain of food and festive films –
will salve the sting of her career hanging by a thread and her heart being trampled on. Because everyone else has their life sorted: even Dev, her boy-next-door crush, is now a tall, dark and handsome stranger with a fiancée. She can’t help wishing her future was clearer.

Then Gwen wakes up to discover it’s Christmas day all over again. Like Groundhog Day but with turkey. And family arguments. On repeat.

As she figures out how to escape her own particular Christmas hell, Dev is the one bright spot. He might be all grown-up but underneath he’s just as kind and funny as she remembers.

Maybe, just maybe, her heart can be mended after all.

But how do you fall in love with someone who can’t remember you from one day to the next?

Buy here*

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

Published: November 15th
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Olivia fled her abusive marriage to return to her hometown and take over the family beekeeping business when her son Asher was six. Now, impossibly, her baby is six feet tall and in his last year of high school, a kind, good-looking, popular ice hockey star with a tiny sprite of a new girlfriend.

Lily also knows what it feels like to start over – when she and her mother relocated to New Hampshire it was all about a fresh start. She and Asher couldn’t help falling for each other, and Lily feels happy for the first time. But can she trust him completely?

Then Olivia gets a phone call – Lily is dead, and Asher is arrested on a charge of murder. As the case against him unfolds, she realises he has hidden more than he’s shared with her. And Olivia knows firsthand that the secrets we keep reflect the past we want to leave behind ­­- and that we rarely know the people we love well as we think we do.

Buy here*

The Lindbergh Nanny by Mariah Fredericks

Published: November 15th
Publisher: Review
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Historical Mystery, Biographical Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
SHE WAS THE LAST PERSON TO SEE THE BABY…

You may not know Betty Gow’s name – but ‘the Lindbergh nanny’ is infamous.

In 1932, all eyes are on Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the most glamorous and intriguing couple in America. But who was paying attention when, one evening in early March, their baby son was stolen from the family home?

The Lindbergh nanny is the first person to discover Charlie missing… and the last to see him that night.

With the world watching on, Betty must discover the truth about what really happened to young Charlie, to clear her own name – and to find justice for the little boy she loves.

A propulsive re-imagining of America’s most notorious crime of the twentieth century, told through the eyes of the young woman who found herself at the heart of the case.

Buy here*

The Dazzle of Light by Georgina Clarke

Published: November 17th
Publisher: Verve Books
Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Mystery

SYNOPSIS:
Ruby Mills is ruthlessly ambitious, strikingly beautiful – and one of the Forty Thieves’ most talented members.

Harriet Littlemore writes the women’s section in a local newspaper. She’s from a ‘good’ London family and engaged to an up-and-coming Member of Parliament – but she wants a successful career of her own.

After witnessing Ruby fleeing the scene of a robbery, Harriet develops a fascination with the elusive young thief that extends beyond journalistic interest. As their personal aspirations bring them into closer contact than society’s rules usually allow, Ruby and Harriet’s stories become increasingly intertwined.

Their magnetic dynamic, fraught with envy and desire, tells a compulsive, cinematic story about class, morality and the cost of being an independent woman in 1920s London.

Buy here*

Suicide Thursday by Will Carver

Published: November 24th
Publisher: Orenda Books
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Hardboiled, Noir Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
A disenchanted man struggles to get beyond the first chapter of the books he’s writing, and to separate fact from fiction in his own life. His friend’s suicide changes everything … The mind-blowing, heart-rending new thriller from cult bestselling author Will Carver.

_________________________________________
 
Eli Hagin can’t finish anything. 
 
He hates his job, but can’t seem to quit. He doesn’t want to be with his girlfriend, but doesn’t know how end things with her, either. Eli wants to write a novel, but he’s never taken a story beyond the first chapter. 
 
Eli also has trouble separating reality from fiction. 
 
When his best friend kills himself, Eli is motivated, for the first time in his life, to finally end something himself, just as Mike did…
 
Except sessions with his therapist suggest that Eli’s most recent ‘first chapters’ are not as fictitious as he had intended … and a series of text messages that Mike received before his death point to something much, much darker…

Buy here

Happy New Year by Malin Stehn

Published: November 24th
Publisher: Michael Joseph
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE PARTY OF THE SEASON. BUT SHE NEVER CAME HOME.

******

It’s New Year’s Eve. The best night of the year.

As old friends the Wiksells and the Anderssons raise their glasses, their teenage children host their own party across town, finally free to let loose.

But the next morning, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Wiksell is missing.

The hours tick by. The police get involved. And no one knows who to trust.

These two families have a lot to hide.
Could the answer to Jennifer’s disappearance lie close to home?

Buy here*

The Sanctuary by Emma Haughton

Published: November 24th
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense

SYNOPSIS:
Very few people get the opportunity to stay here.
And some don’t get to leave …

Zoey doesn’t remember anything about last night. But she knows something went badly wrong. For she is no longer in New York. She’s woken up in the desert, in a white building she doesn’t recognise, and she’s alone.

When she discovers she’s been admitted to The Sanctuary, a discreet, mysterious, isolated refuge from normal life, to avoid jail, she is stunned. She knows she has secrets, troubles, but she thought she had everything under control. But as she spends more time with other residents, she begins to open up about what she’s running from. Until she realises that not everyone in The Sanctuary has her best interests at heart, and someone might even be a killer . . .

Buy here*

The Locked Attic by B P Walter

Published: November 24th
Publisher: One More Chapter
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Crime Fiction, Domestic Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
There’s something in my neighbour’s attic.

 Something steeped in shadows. A secret to everyone. Seen by no one…
 
He stands sometimes at the window. Hidden in the corner of my eye.

I know he’s there. I know he’s watching.
 
Now my son is dead. My neighbour is not.
 
And I’m going to find out why.

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The Judas Tree by Amanda Jennings

Published: November 24th
Publisher: HQ
Genre: Suspense, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Coming-of-Age Story

SYNOPSIS:

Childhood betrayal casts a long shadow…

From the author of The Haven and The Cliff House, this is a devastating thriller set in a Cornish boarding school.

‘A gripping page-turner’ Tammy Cohen, author of The Wedding Party

At a bleak boys’ boarding school in Cornwall in the eighties when bullying is rife, Will and his best friend, Luke, are involved in a horrific incident that results in Luke leaving.

Twenty-five years later their paths cross again and memories of a painful childhood come flooding back to haunt them both.

Will’s wife, Harmony, is struggling after a miscarriage that has hit her hard, and wishes Will would open up about what happened. But as Will withdraws further, she finds herself drawn to the charismatic stranger from her husband’s past, Luke, and soon all three are caught in a tangled web of guilt and desire . . .

From Amanda Jennings, author of The Cliff House, comes a haunting thriller about betrayal and revenge.

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Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

Published: November 29th
Publisher: Tor
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Disability Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Chicago, sometime. Two people meet in the armory of the Art Institute by chance. Prior to their encounter, he is a doctoral student who manages his destructive thoughts with compulsive calculations about time travel; she is a bipolar counterfeit artist undergoing court-ordered psychotherapy. After their meeting, those things do not change.

Everything else, however, is slightly different.

Both obsessive, eccentric personalities, Aldo Damiani and Charlotte Regan struggle to be without each other from the moment they meet. The truth – that he is a clinically depressed, anti-social theoretician and she is a manipulative liar with a history of self-sabotage – means the deeper they fall in love, the more troubling their reliance on each other becomes.

Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake is a glimpse into the nature of love, what it means to be unwell, and how to face the fractures of yourself and still love as if you’re not broken.

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A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella

Published: November 29th
Publisher: Literary Fiction
Genre: Scribner UK

SYNOPSIS:
From the author of A Little Hope comes an enormously powerful and life-affirming novel about three individuals whose lives intersect in unforeseen ways.

Set in a close-knit Pennsylvania suburb in the grip of winter, A Quiet Life follows three people grappling with loss and finding a tender wisdom in their grief.

Chuck Ayers used to look forward to nothing so much as his annual trip to Hilton Head with his wife, Cat–that yearly taste of relaxation they’d become accustomed to in retirement, after a lifetime of working and raising two children. Now, just months after Cat’s death, Chuck finds that he can’t let go of her things–her favorite towel, the sketchbooks in her desk drawer–as he struggles to pack for a trip he can’t imagine taking without her.

Ella Burke delivers morning newspapers and works at a bridal shop to fill her days while she anxiously awaits news–any piece of information–about her missing daughter. Ella adjusts to life in a new apartment and answers every call on her phone, hoping her daughter will reach out one day.

After the sudden death of her father, Kirsten Bonato set aside her veterinary school aspirations, finding comfort in the steady routine of working at an animal shelter. But as time passes, old dreams and new romantic interests begin to surface–and Kirsten finds herself at another crossroads.

In this beautifully crafted and profoundly moving novel, three parallel narratives converge in poignant and unexpected ways, as each character bravely presses onward, trying to recover something they have lost. Emotionally riveting and infused with hope, A Quiet Life celebrates humanity in the midst of uncertainty.

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My Husband’s Killer by Laura Marshall

Published: November 29th
Publisher: Sphere
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Holiday Fiction

SYNOPSIS:
Three couples. One murder. A holiday to die for . . .

We arrived at a villa on the Amalfi Coast, ready to enjoy a sun-soaked weekend with our oldest friends – and one new face.

By the end of the weekend, my husband is found dead.

But how can I mourn him, when on the day of his funeral I discover he was having an affair?

The only suspects are the women we went on holiday with. My oldest, closest friends.

Do I really want to dig into my husband’s secret? Do I really want to know who betrayed me?

And as I start to unravel their secrets . . . do I really believe his death was an accident?

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