Tag: previews

Book previews

Out this week: New Simon Brett series

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Given that I’ve already written series posts for most of Simon Brett’s other series – namely Fetherings, Charles Paris, Mrs Pargeter – it would be remiss of me not to mention that he has a new book out this week and it’s the first in a new series. It’s called Major Bricket and the Circus Corpse and there is already a second book in the series listed on Amazon for this time next year. Our new amateur sleuth has just retired to the village in Suffolk where he’s owned a home for years, although he hasn’t really lived there because his work has taken him abroad a lot. The village has speculated about his occupation, but when he discovers a body on his lawn, he uses his professional skills to try and figure out what happened. I’ve actually read this already (thank you NetGalley) so this could actually count as a bonus review so your luck is in!

Now I’ll admit that I haven’t read Brett’s Blotto and Twinks series, so i can’t include them in this but if there is a scale of realism in his books where Jude and Carol in Fetherings live in the most realistic world and Mrs P is the least – then Major Bricket is the new measure of the far end out beyond Mrs P. Brett is doing his thing on your spy-thriller-secret identity type novel with more than a dash of the OTT about it. I’ve been trying to figure out what it reminded me of, and I can’t quite work it out – but it’s definitely closer to the M C Beaton Hamish MacBeth-everything-falls-into-place end of the cozy scale than it Brett usually is. Overall, I’m glad I read it, but I would rather have had another Charles Paris I think!

Book previews

Out Today: Paul Delamere sequel

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The first book featuring Paul Delamere, Knife Skills for Beginners, was a Book of the Week last year and given how much I’ve seen it in bookstores, it’s probably no surprise that Orlando Murrin has written a sequel. In Murder Below Deck Paul finds himself on board a super yacht with an old friend, but things start going wrong when a necklace goes missing and then a guest ends up dead. I’ve got a copy of this from NetGalley and have got as far as the necklace disappearing and Paul getting roped in to do some cooking – no body yet, but I had a migraine that stopped me getting further. But so far, so good. I’m expecting this to be fairly easy to get hold of because of how well the first book has done – that paperback came out in January with a snazzy new cover and I’m pretty sure it was on the “buy one get one half price” table in at least one of the bookshops I’ve been into since then.

Book previews

Out This Week: New Linda Holmes

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This is the second author from my favourite Not New Books of 2024 to have a new release in the first quarter of the new year. Linda Holmes’s third novel, Back After This, is about a podcast producer who gets her big break as a presenter – but only if it’s about her own dating life and features an influencer and relationship coach. Given that Holmes’s day job is on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast, I’m optimistic that this is going to be a lot of fun with some insider knowledge (and hopefully jokes) as well as a satisfying story about Cecily working out who she is. The only question is how easy it’s going to be to get hold of it in the UK. Fingers crossed…

Book previews

Out This Week: The Secrets of Underhill

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It’s the end of January, but most of the books out this week are scary thriller type books, which are really not my thing, so instead I wanted to mention a new middle grade fantasy novel that’s out this week. The Secrets of Underhill sees a young apprentice who is trying to save a grove of magical trees. It sounds like a really interesting idea with an environmental theme that’s seems like it will appeal to youngsters.

Book previews

Out this week: New Jill Shalvis

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Obviously this week the big release is the new Rebecca Yarros book – which has had the big midnight opening, parties and events type release. But given that I still haven’t started that series and that everyone bookish has probably already heard about it, I wanted to mention something different – which is that there is a new Jill Shalvis out this week as well. It’s the seventh in the Sunrise Cove series which I am (still) a few books behind because I keep waiting for the ones I’m missing to be on offer and it seems to never happen! But this is a wintery entry with a heroine who needs help to find her off-grid parents who have gone missing and the only person that she can trust to help is her ex – an investigator for the Parks Service who is currently stuck at home injured. I love a second chance romance – and this sounds like a really interesting premise too so I’m looking forward to reading this when I can get my hands on it.

previews

Out Today: The Favourites

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Long time readers will know that I am a big figure skating fan (but an extremely bad skater myself) so it may not come as a surprise to you that I wanted to mention a novel that’s out this week and features a pair of ice dancers. The Favourites is about a pair of wrong side of the tracks skaters, Katarina Shaw and Heath Roca, who captivate fans right up until something happens at the Olympics to cause the instant end of their partnership. Ten years later there is a documentary coming out about them and Kat may need to speak out if she wants her story to be heard.

I’m fascinated to read this and see how much of it is skating, how much of it is drama and what on earth the incident was. I will endeavour to report back, maybe even before the skating season is over*…

*Worlds is at the end of March so that’s possible right? Right?

Book previews

2025 preview post

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I try and write one of these every year, and as ever the new books are weighted towards the start of the year because those are the ones that we know about already and the later part of the year is somewhat less clear. But if you go back and read yesterday’s series post you’ll see quite a few books there in the back half of the year, so it does even out a little bit.

Let’s start with something I have mentioned before: the new Taylor Jenkins Reid – Atmosphere – which comes out in June and which I had pre ordered about 30 seconds after I found out that it existed. It’s set in the 80s and about astronauts in the space shuttle programme and I am very excited to read it.

Next up is one that came out this week and is blurbed as “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo meets First Lie Wins” – Three Lives of Cate Kay by Kate Fagin. It’s about an elusive best selling author who has managed to keep her real identity a secret but is now ready to face her past. I will be reading this, probably sooner rather than later.

Also due to be read sooner rather than later (because I have a copy from NetGalley) is Murder in the Dressing Room which is a murder mystery set in Soho with a drag queen detective. It’s written by Holly Stars, who is a drag queen and writer who wrote the drag murder mystery play Death Drop which has had a couple of runs in London. It’s out in early February and I’m hoping for good things.

On the non fiction front we have Story of a Murder by Hallie Rubenhold coming in March. This is her first book after the really successful and very very good The Five and she’s now turning her attention to Doctor Crippen – again looking at a notorious murder from the point of view of the women involved.

And then let’s finish with a couple of romance novels: Emily Henry’s next novel is Great Big Beautiful Life which is coming on April 22, and Ashley Poston has Sounds like Love coming on June 17. The Emily Henry has two writers in completion to tell the story of a famous heiress and the Poston has a songwriter whose parents are closing down the family’s music venue.

Have a great Saturday!

Book previews

Out This Week: New Kayla Olsen

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After including The Reunion as one of my favourite Not New books of 2024, it would be remiss of me not to mention that her next novel is out on Kindle today. The Lodge is about a writer who snags the job of ghosting the memoir of a former boyband member. The blurb says that she moves to a penthouse in Vermont to get the job done, but while she’s combing through her clients voicemails and documents to try and work out what happened to one of his bandmates who went missing, she starts taking skiing lessons with a handsome instructor called Tyler. As I said in the best of the year post, The Reunion was bang in the current trend for books about former teen stars – and there also seems to be a trend starting for books about ghost writers. It’s described as a cozy rom-com so I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens.