Tuesday, October 31, 2023

A Traitor in Whitehall by Julia Kelly


 1940, England: Evelyne Redfern, known as “The Parisian Orphan” as a child, is working on the line at a munitions factory in wartime London. When Mr. Fletcher, one of her father’s old friends, spots Evelyne on a night out, Evelyne finds herself plunged into the world of Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s cabinet war rooms.


However, shortly after she settles into her new role as a secretary, one of the girls at work is murdered, and Evelyne must use all of her amateur sleuthing expertise to find the killer. But doing so puts her right in the path of David Poole, a cagey minister’s aide who seems determined to thwart her investigations. That is, until Evelyne finds out David’s real mission is to root out a mole selling government secrets to Britain’s enemies, and the pair begrudgingly team up.

With her quick wit, sharp eyes, and determination, will Evelyne be able to find out who’s been selling England’s secrets and catch a killer, all while battling her growing attraction to David?

Pick up your copy here...


Julia Kelly is the international bestselling author of historical fiction and historical mystery novels about the extraordinary stories of the past. Her books have been translated into 13 languages. In addition to writing, she’s been an Emmy-nominated producer, journalist, marketing professional, and (for one summer) a tea waitress. Julia called Los Angeles, Iowa, and New York City home before settling in London.

Monday, October 30, 2023

Reunited on Sugar Maple Road by Debbie Mason

 

Fake dating isn’t supposed to lead to real feelings....
 
Highland Falls police officer Emma Scott is a workaholic who doesn’t do small talk, hugs, or anything else touchy-feely. Ever since her fiancé’s death over a year ago, Emma’s been sleepwalking through life, and her family is growing increasingly worried about her. Enter Josh Callahan, her brother’s best friend. Josh is obnoxiously good-looking and, even more annoyingly, in a perpetually cheerful mood. Though he may drive her crazy, his suggestion to fake date him is brilliant because there are no feelings involved
At least, not at first.
         High school football coach and volunteer firefighter Josh Callahan is a fun-loving guy who is all about friends, family, and community. After his wife left him, he committed to staying uncommitted, except now he’s earned the nickname “Heartbreaker of Highland Falls.” Spending time with Emma will improve his rep while she can remember what it means to get out and enjoy life again. And his plan works…until Josh realizes that the feelings he has for Emma are all too real.  But is Emma ready to share her heart again?

Pick up your copy here...


Debbie Mason is the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author of the Christmas, Colorado series and the Harmony Harbor series. The first book in her Christmas, Colorado series, “The Trouble with Christmas,” was the inspiration for Hallmark’s “Welcome to Christmas.” Her books have been praised by RT Book Reviews for their “likable characters, clever dialogue, and juicy plots.” When Debbie isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her family in Ottawa, Canada.

You can learn more at:

AuthorDebbieMason.com

Twitter @AuthorDebMason

DebbieMasonBooks@Facebook.com

Friday, October 27, 2023

What We Could Have Been by Jess Sinclair

 

In this richly imagined novel, perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah and Taylor Jenkins Reid, a terrible betrayal triggers a feud that casts its shadow over the fates of two families in a small Florida fishing community. When a hunt for the truth rekindles a forbidden alliance, these families must choose to unearth more deception or finally claim redemption.

Bluebelle Shea and Enzo Castellari are hardly more than children when they fall in love, despite the objections of their families, who have been at war for years. They don’t know the reason for the brutal rift, but nothing matters except the way they feel. Their hopeful plan for the future is shattered the night Blue’s mother drowns—and her father is arrested for murder.

Ten years later, fleeing a disastrous marriage, Blue returns home with her young son, Murphy. As she settles into the community once more, chance throws her together with Enzo, and she is startled by the rekindled attraction he stirs inside her.

Drawn together time and again, Blue and Enzo try to untangle years of conflicting emotions and bittersweet memories. When a frightening crisis strikes, Enzo doesn’t hesitate to come to Blue’s aid. Resolved to put the past behind them, they fight to learn not only what really happened the night Blue’s mother died, but the truth behind the destructive clash between their families.

At its heart, What We Could Have Been explores the bonds between families, friends, and lovers, and poignantly illustrates the ways we can heal after betrayal. Suffused with detail and sentiment, this is a novel that will resonate with anyone who has ever fought for their own happy ending.

Pick up your copy here...


Jess Sinclair writes women's and book club fiction with compelling, relatable characters still figuring it all out. Her debut women's fiction, What We Could Have Been, is a gripping and emotional tale of a woman coming home to the small Florida gulf coast fishing town she fled as a teen in hopes of healing old wounds.

A Detroit native with one foot in the sand on Siesta Key Beach, Jess is a mother of three and works as a nurse when not writing. She lives with her husband and a menagerie of spoiled rescue dogs and cats, who inspire every fictional pet she's written, including iconic fishing cat, Hook. 

My Thoughts...
This book.... I feel in love with the characters that Murphy boy he's something else. The fairy garden was my favorite part of the whole story. I will be thinking about this story for a long time. It's a must read.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Thursday, October 26, 2023

Balancing Act by Emily March


  

Genevieve Prentice is learning that reinventing herself is a bit like downsizing a house. Deciding what to keep and what needs to go gets complicated. After settling into life in Lake in the Clouds, Colorado, with her sister’s help, she’s finally finding her balance. But Genevieve’s newfound steadiness is threatened when her daughter Willow unexpectedly arrives carrying a mountain of emotional baggage.

Willow Eldridge needs a fresh start, but that can’t happen until she comes clean about her family’s secrets. Thankfully, between caring for her two young children and planning her brother’s wedding, Willow has plenty of reasons to delay the uncomfortable heart-to-heart with her mother. Yet when Willow grows close to her kind but standoffish neighbor and suspects he is keeping secrets of his own, she realizes there’s no moving forward without facing what came before…

Can Genevieve and Willow jettison the pain of the past to create the future they so desperately crave? Beneath the crystal blue skies of Lake in the Clouds, anything seems possible. 

Pick up your copy here...


Emily March is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author of over forty novels, including the critically acclaimed Eternity Springs series. Publishers Weekly calls March a "master of delightful banter," and her heartwarming, emotionally charged stories have been named to Best of the Year lists by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Romance Writers of America. A graduate of Texas A&M University, Emily is an avid fan of Aggie sports, and her recipe for jalapeño relish has made her a tailgating legend. 

My thoughts...
If there is a firefighter in the story, I am all in. This one did not disappoint at all. I loved the romance, and the kids were a plus. This is a must read.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

The Flower Quilter by Mindy Steele

 

Barbara Schwartz was born into a family of quilters, but she would rather eat dirt than partake in another quilting frolic or sew on another binding. When her parents send her to Indiana to help her grandmother in her quilting shop, she finds herself amongst a very different community. It’s only one summer and then she will be back in Kentucky where she belongs.

Melvin Bontrager’s world stopped six years ago when his parents died. Now when his only means of providing for his widowed sister and niece is threatened, Melvin finds his landscaping business disappearing too. When spring delivers a newcomer who is immune to his salty moods, Melvin does something he has never done before, accepts help. 

What blooms is the last thing Barbara ever expected, and everything Melvin could ever want. 

Pick up your copy here...


Raised in Kentucky timber country, Steele writes Amish Romance peppered in humor, using her rural surroundings as her muse. She is a best selling author and the winner of the 2022 FHLCW Reader's Choice award for sweet romance. Steele creates realistic characters for her readers and believes in engaging all the senses to make you laugh, cry, hold your breath, and root for the happy ever after ending. Readers can find themselves, somewhere within her pages.

My Thoughts...
This was my first book by Steele and I must say it wasn't that bad. If you are a fan of Amish fiction, then you might want to give this one a try.

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

The List by Yomi Adegoke

 

Ola Olajide, a celebrated journalist at Womxxxn magazine, is set to marry the love of her life in one month’s time. Young, beautiful, and successful—she and her fiancé Michael are considered the “couple goals” of their social network and seem to have it all. That is, until one morning when they both wake up to the same message: “Oh my god, have you seen The List?” 

It began as a crowdsourced collection of names and somehow morphed into an anonymous account posting allegations on social media. Ola would usually be the first to support such a list—she’d retweet it, call for the men to be fired, write article after article. Except this time, Michael’s name is on it.

Compulsively readable, wildly entertaining, and filled with sharp social insight, The List is a piercing and dazzlingly clear-sighted debut about secrets, lies, and the internet. Perfect for fans of Such a Fun AgeLuster, and My Dark Vanessa, this is a searing portrait of these modern times and our morally complicated online culture. 
Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                     amazon.com/List-Novel-Yomi-Adegoke/dp/0063274876/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1E3L26OU7W2LS&keywords=the+list+yomi+adegoke&qid=1697832753&s=books&sprefix=The+List%2Cstripbooks%2C128&sr=1-1

Yomi Adegoke is a multi award-winning journalist and author. She is currently a columnist at The Guardian and British Vogue and is the former host of the Women's Fiction Prize podcast. In 2018, she co-wrote the bestselling book Slay In Your Lane and the same year was named one of the most influential people in London by the Evening Standard. She also was awarded the Groucho Maverick and Marie Clare Future Shaper awards. In 2021, she was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Monday, October 23, 2023

A Haunting at Linley by Michelle Cox


 In this seventh book of the series, Clive and Henrietta return to England to find Castle Linley in financial ruin. When Clive’s cousin, Wallace, invites an estate agent in to assess the home’s value, the agent is later found poisoned, throwing all of the Castle’s guests into suspicion. Clive and Henrietta are soon drawn into an investigation, which is slowed by an incompetent local inspector and several unexplained phenomena—the cause of which many, especially the frail Lady Linley, believe to be the workings of the ghost of a hanged maid.


Meanwhile, Gunther and Elsie have begun  life on a farm in Omaha. Circumstances are difficult, but they are content—until Oldrich Exely appears, proposing an option Elsie finds difficult to ignore.  Melody Merriweather, still masquerading as a nun to aid Elsie’s escape, likewise finds it difficult to ignore a letter with tragic news from home, while Julia, on the other hand, receives a very different sort of letter from Glenn Forbes.

Back in England, Clive is called away to London on suspicious business, leaving Henrietta to carry on with the investigation alone.  When she is mysteriously locked in the study one night, however, things take on a more deadly, supernatural feel, leaving her to fear that  Lady Linley's “ghost” might just be real after all…

Pick up your copy here...


Thanks to all of my readers and fans for your amazing support!

*Be sure to hit "follow" here on Amazon to keep up with my new releases.

*Visit me on my website: http://michellecoxauthor.com/ to connect with me on social. Sign up for my newsletter to keep current with events, new releases, and giant giveaways!

And don't forget - the whole series is now on Audio!!! The wonderful, award-winning Hollywood actress, Jayne Entwistle, narrates. Get started now! 

My Thoughts...
I have really enjoyed this series. Cox can write a mystery to keep you turning pages all night. Her characters are some of the best.
I recommend this whole series to all my mystery lovers.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Saturday, October 21, 2023

On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni

 

Cora Matthews's life is a mess. A broken engagement and the unexpected death of her mother have left her wondering if things will ever return to normal. Whatever "normal" is.

It certainly isn't what she finds at Moonberry Lake. After she receives her family's dilapidated lakefront lodge as an inheritance--with a surprising condition attached--Cora finds her life overrun by a parade of eccentric neighbors who all have something to say 
and something to teach her.

As Cora works to put her life back together, she must decide if she is willing to let go of the past, open her heart to love, and embrace the craziest version of family and home she could ever have imagined. 

Pick up your copy here...


Holly Varni is a native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, who was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Between the lutefisk, grumpy grandparents, and crazy neighbors who mowed their lawn wearing pajamas, the seed to becoming a storyteller was planted. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast where she shares more stories of her beloved characters. Learn more at www.hollyvarni.com. 

My thoughts...
This is a debut and let me tell you it was an interesting read. Some rather unique characters. I can't wait to see what Varni writes the next time.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own.

Friday, October 20, 2023

The Prayer Jar Devotional Forgiveness Inspired by Wanda Brunstetter

 

The Prayer Jar Devotional: Forgiveness delivers the same life-changing inspiration as Wanda E. Brunstetter’s unforgettable stories. Every reading will help you draw closer to your heavenly Father.
Your prayer life will be transformed as you read through these dozens of encouraging devotional readings centered around the theme of forgiveness. With each turn of the page, you’ll discover unchanging truths of God’s Word alongside meaningful prompts that guide you to write out your personal prayers or favorite, grace-filled Bible verses and then add to your very own prayer jar. (Simple instructions are included in the introduction.)

Once you’ve finished reading the last page, you’ll have a full prayer jar of your very own. Use it to infuse your heart with inspiration and encouragement when you need it—or share it with a friend who could use some faith restoration of her very own!

Pick up your copy here...


New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Wanda E. Brunstetter is one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre. She has written more than 100 books translated in four languages. With over 12 million copies sold, Wanda's stories consistently earn spots on the nation's most prestigious bestseller lists and have received numerous awards.

Wanda's ancestors were part of the Anabaptist faith, and her novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Her books are well-read and trusted by many Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs.

When Wanda visits her Amish friends, she finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties. Wanda enjoys photography, ventriloquism, gardening, bird-watching, beachcombing, and spending time with her family. She and her husband, Richard, have been blessed with two grown children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

To learn more about Wanda, visit her website at www.wandabrunstetter.com.

Donna K. Maltese is a freelance writer, editor, and writing coach. Mother of two children, grandmother of one very active grandchild, and caretaker of two rescue animals, she resides in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her husband. When not reading or writing, Donna, an avid knitter and crocheter, can be found frequently wrestling yarn from her cat. You can check out her website at donnakmaltese.com.

Thursday, October 19, 2023

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

 

Jasmine Yang arrives in New York City from her rural Chinese village without money or family support, fleeing a controlling husband, on a desperate search for the daughter who was taken from her at birth—another female casualty of China’s controversial One Child Policy. But with her husband on her trail, the clock is ticking, and she’s forced to make increasingly risky decisions if she ever hopes to be reunited with her daughter.

Meanwhile, publishing executive Rebecca Whitney seems to have it all: a prestigious family name and the wealth that comes with it, a high-powered career, a beautiful home, a handsome husband, and an adopted Chinese daughter she adores. She’s even hired a nanny to help her balance the demands of being a working wife and mother. But when an industry scandal threatens to jeopardize not only Rebecca’s job but her marriage, this perfect world begins to crumble and her role in her own family is called into question.

The Leftover Woman finds these two unforgettable women on a shocking collision course. Twisting and suspenseful and surprisingly poignant, it's a profound exploration of identity and belonging, motherhood and family. It is a story of two women in a divided city—separated by severe economic and cultural differences yet bound by a deep emotional connection to a child. 
Pick up your copy here...                                                                                                                                     Amazon.com: The Leftover Woman: A Novel: 9780063031463: Kwok, Jean: Books

Jean Kwok is the international bestselling author of Girl in Translation, Mambo in Chinatown, and Searching for Sylvie Lee, which was a Read with Jenna Today Show Book Club pick and an instant New York Times bestseller. Her work has been published in twenty countries and is taught in schools across the world. She has been selected for numerous honors, including the American Library Association Alex Award, the Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book Award and the Sunday Times Short Story Award international shortlist. She immigrated from Hong Kong to Brooklyn when she was five and worked in a Chinatown clothing factory for much of her childhood. She received her bachelor's degree from Harvard University and earned an MFA from Columbia University. She currently lives in the Netherlands.

Learn more about Jean here:

https://jeankwok.com/

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

The Awesome Human Journal by Nataly Kogen

 

An unboring, burnout-healing, joy-inducing journal inspired by the book The Awesome Human Project

We’ve somehow been convinced that a life of busyness and struggle is our only option. Nataly Kogan offers a unique experiential guide that shows us another way is possible.

The bestselling author shows us how to make the tough days a little easier, savor the good days, and create a more supportive relationship with our thoughts and emotions, so we can live with more energy and joy.

“We are all AWESOME, because each of us has something unique and special to share and contribute,” explains Nataly. “We are also HUMAN, because none of us has unlimited energy, and we can’t do all things perfectly. The only way to fully unleash your awesomeness is by honoring your humanness.”

How do you honor your humanness? By strengthening your emotional fitness, which Nataly guides you to do in this interactive journal.

You’ll learn and practice how to:
• Use the 5 emotional fitness skills of acceptance, gratitude, self-care, intentional kindness, and the bigger why
• Edit your thoughts and quiet your inner critic
• Say “no” to things that drain your energy
• Make your joy a priority without guilt
• Reduce overwhelm and fuel your motivation
• Talk back to your brain when it holds you back with fear
And many more skills that will help you embrace your Awesome Human!

Filled with simple yet surprisingly powerful (and always science-backed!) practices, inspiring Notes to Self, and Nataly’s contagious enthusiasm, this engaging journal is like having a really great friend guide you to become a better friend with yourself.

Pick up your copy here...

Nataly Kogan is a leading expert in emotional fitness and leadership. After coming to the US as a refugee from the former Soviet Union, Nataly went on to have a successful career as a technology executive. But she suffered a debilitating burnout that led her to find a new way to work and live. Today, she helps hundreds of thousands of Awesome Humans struggle less and thrive more through speaking, leadership training programs, online courses, books, and The Awesome Human Podcast.

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Some of Us Are Looking by Carlene O'Connor


 In Dimpna Wilde’s veterinary practice, an imminent meteor shower has elevated the usual gossip to include talk of shooting stars and the watch parties that are planned all over Dingle. But there are also matters nearer at hand to discuss—including the ragtag caravan of young people selling wares by the roadside, and the shocking death of Chris Henderson, an elderly local, in a hit-and-run.


Just hours before his death, Henderson had stormed into the Garda Station, complaining loudly about the caravan’s occupants causing noise and disruption. One of their members is a beautiful young woman named Brigid Sweeney, and Dimpna is shocked when Brigid later turns up at her practice, her clothing splattered in blood and an injured hare tucked into her shirt.

Brigid claims that a mysterious stranger has been trying to obtain a lucky rabbit’s foot. Dimpna is incensed at the thought of anyone mutilating animals, but there is far worse in store. On the night of the meteor shower, Dimpna finds Brigid’s body tied to a tree, her left hand severed. She has bled to death. Wrapped around her wrist is a rabbit’s foot.

Brigid had amassed plenty of admirers, and there were tangled relationships within the group. But perhaps there is something more complex than jealousy at play. The rabbit’s foot, the severed hand, the coinciding meteor shower—the deeper Dimpna and Detective Sargeant Cormac O’Brien investigate, the more ominous the signs seem to be, laced with a warning that Dimpna fears it will prove fatal to overlook.

Pick up your copy here...


USA Today bestselling author Carlene O’Connor comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. She writes the bestselling IRISH VILLAGE MYSTERIES, the HOME TO IRELAND series, and the new COUNTY KERRY MYSTERIES. Her books have been translated into numerous languages, and optioned for television. Readers can find her at Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086525205106 or through her website: http://www.carleneoconnor.net

Monday, October 16, 2023

Want Your Self by Katie Horwich


  I'm not good enough. Not smart enough. Not talented enough. We all do it. Belittling who we are, what we do, what we stand for—often without realizing it. And it's stuck on a loop. Yet if shifting our toxic self-talk was as easy as repeating positive mantras, we'd have done it already. With Want Your Self, Katie Horwitch offers an approach for deep and lasting change—a guide for becoming fluent in an inner language for loving who you are while growing into the person you were meant to become.


In 
Want Your Self, you'll find step-by-step guidance for finding, being, and staying your Self in this increasingly chaotic and complex world. Horwitch shines a compassionate light on the seemingly everyday moments that define your narratives and unpacks your inherited emotional DNA—then shares invaluable practices like Truth Maintenance, The Planned Freak-Out, and The Fear-Less Equation to help you sift through years of pretending and perfecting to unearth the strength in who you were all along.

"Behind every person fighting against their Self is really a person who yearns to want their Self," says Horwitch. "And that is a journey worth going on." Want Your Self is the blueprint for that journey—a pragmatic and proactive alternative to the toxic positivity that keeps us disconnected from ourselves and each other.

Pick up your copy here...



Katie Horwitch is a nationally recognized writer, speaker, mindset coach, and activist who has spent over a decade working to shift the cultural self-talk paradigm. She has spoken across the country about self-confidence, living fearlessly, and shifting the stories and habits that help shape our negative self-talk patterns. Praised by CNN as a“woman empowering others around the world,” Katie is the founder of the multimedia platform WANT: Women Against Negative Talk and the host of The WANTcast: The Women Against Negative Talk Podcast. She’s spoken at SXSW, and has been featured on media outlets like The Cut, Romper, mindbodygreen, and Livestrong. As a leadership and mindset coach, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies on reshaping their internal culture, and coached executives on how to lead with integrity and purpose. She believes that shifting your self-talk is an essential part of shaping the world you actually want to live in—and is more important now than ever before. She lives in New York City with her husband and their dog-daughter, Frankie.

To learn more about Katie and her work, visit katiehorwitch.com and womenagainstnegativetalk.com. You can also find her on social media at @katiehorwitch.

Friday, October 13, 2023

The Twelve Months of Christmas by Sheila Roberts

 

Sunny, Arianna and Molly are having three very different but equally terrible Christmases. Sunny is a newlywed with two new stepkids who want nothing to do with her; Arianna is newly divorced and hates having to send her daughter off to spend the holiday with her dad; for Molly, nothing is new, but her job at the post office is getting very, very old.

The whole Christmas season has been a bust all around. But Sunny and Arianna have a wild idea: What if they had a Christmas do-over in January? February? On Saint Patrick’s Day?

Christmas all year long—what could that look like? As these three determined women chase the perfect holiday through twelve months of cooking disasters, over-the-top festivity, and lots of laughter and tears, they’ll discover perfection is way overrated.

Pick up your copy here...


With more than fifty books to her name, Sheila Roberts is a frequent USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller - and a fan favorite. Her Christmas perennial "On Strike for Christmas" was made into a movie for the Lifetime Channel and her novel "The Nine Lives of Christmas" was made into a movie for Hallmark. Hallmark also made a sequel, titled "The Nine Kittens of Christmas." Her most recent novel to hit the small screen was "Christmas on Candy Cane Lane," which aired on the Great American Family Channel in 2022. Before settling into her writing career, Sheila owned a singing telegram company and played in band. When she's not traveling, she splits her time between the Pacific Northwest and Southern California.

Thursday, October 12, 2023

Brooklyn Crime Novel by Jonathan Lethem


 On the streets of 1970s Brooklyn, a daily ritual goes down: the dance. Money is exchanged, belongings surrendered, power asserted. The promise of violence lies everywhere, a currency itself. For these children, Black, brown, and white, the street is a stage in shadow. And in the wings hide the other players: parents; cops; renovators; landlords; those who write the headlines, the histories, and the laws; those who award this neighborhood its name.

The rules appear obvious at first. But in memory’s prism, criminals and victims may seem to trade places. The voices of the past may seem to rise and gather as if in harmony, then make war with one another. A street may seem to crack open and reveal what lies behind its glimmering facade. None who lived through it are ever permitted to forget.

Written with kaleidoscopic verve and delirious wit, Brooklyn Crime Novel is a breathtaking tour de force by a writer at the top of his powers. Jonathan Lethem, “one of America’s greatest storytellers” (Washington Post), has crafted an epic interrogation of how we fashion stories to contain the uncontainable: our remorse at the world we’ve made.

Pick up your copy here...


Jonathan Lethem was born in New York and attended Bennington College.

He is the author of seven novels including Fortress of Solitude and Motherless Brooklyn, which was named Novel of the Year by Esquire and won the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Salon Book Award, as well as the Macallan Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger.

He has also written two short story collections, a novella and a collection of essays, edited The Vintage Book of Amnesia, guest-edited The Year's Best Music Writing 2002, and was the founding fiction editor of Fence magazine.

His writings have appeared in the New Yorker, Rolling Stone, McSweeney's and many other periodicals.

He lives in Brooklyn, New York

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Murder Most Royal by SJ Bennett

 

Queen Elizabeth II is looking forward to a traditional Christmas gathering with her family in Sandringham when a shocking discovery interrupts holiday plans. A severed hand has been found—but even more unsettling, she recognizes the signet ring still attached to a finger. It belongs to a scion of the St Cyr family, her old friends from nearby Ladybridge Hall. Despite the personal connection, the Queen wants to leave the investigation to the police—that is, until newspapers drag her name into the matter.

As reporters speculate about the proximity of the crime to the Crown and the police fail to investigate a suspicious accident on her doorstep, Elizabeth quietly begins to mull over the mystery herself. With help from her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie Oshodi, she delves into the interlocking layers of fact and fiction surrounding the high-profile case. Someone in the quiet county of Norfolk seems to have a secret worth killing for, and the Queen is determined to find out who and what that is—even if that means discovering that someone in her close circle is a murderer.

Pick up your copy here...


SJ Bennett is the bestselling author of the international Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series, featuring Queen Elizabeth II as a secret solver of mysteries. Sophia wrote a series of YA novels before turning to adult crime, and her books have won the Chicken House prize and the RNA Romance Novel of the Year. They have been optioned for TV and translated into over 20 languages.

Sophia once interviewed for the role of Assistant Private Secretary to the Queen. First published at the age of 42 (if you're an aspiring writer, don't give up hope), she lives in London, where she can be found in its museums, theatres, galleries and libraries.

The books in the series so far are: 1 The Windsor Knot, 2 A Three Dog Problem (published in North America as All The Queen's Men), 3 Murder Most Royal, 4 A Death in Diamonds (published in the UK in 2024)

You can find Sophia on Instagram @sophiabennett_writer, on Twitter @sophiabennett and on Facebook as SJBennettAuthor