As we get close to Christmas there are fewer titles being published so this post is a round up to cover the next 3 weeks. As with the previous few posts I\u2019ve looked beyond The Bookseller to pick up some additional titles. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n The list is formed of titles appearing in hardback\/paperback for the first time. In some cases the eBook might already be available. My listing is normally based on the monthly listing found in\u00a0The Bookseller<\/em><\/strong>, so I\u2019m not working from a list of all titles being published. This harks back to my library days when the arrival of the biannual The Bookseller<\/em><\/strong> fiction guide heralded a weekend of filling in reservation cards for my forthcoming reading.<\/p>\n Just a reminder I don\u2019t see any advance copies, my choices are based on the blurb, gut instinct and what takes my fancy at the time. <\/p>\n (NB This post features Affiliate links<\/a> from which I earn a small commission on qualifying purchases) <\/p>\n Crime, Thriller and Mystery (includes Historical Crime\/Mysteries)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n General\/Contemporary Fiction<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Historical<\/a><\/strong> (I tend to take this as pre 1960\u2019s ie not in my lifetime!)<\/p>\n Romance<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n 36 Hours by Angela Marsons<\/strong><\/p>\n Kim clutches the note tightly as her pulse starts to race.\u00a0You have 36 hours. If you follow the instructions, no one will get hurt\u2026<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n When\u00a0Detective Kim Stone\u00a0<\/strong>is woken before dawn because local journalist Tracy Frost wants to show her a message, she\u2019s not impressed. But her blood turns cold when she reads the note. She has 36 hours to follow a trail set by an anonymous challenger.\u00a0If she fails, people will die.<\/strong><\/p>\n Kim\u2019s gut tells her this is no hoax. She summons her team, desperate to prevent what lies ahead. With minutes to spare, they solve the first cryptic clue. It leads to a box hidden deep in the woods, containing a second clue and a tape. As she listens to the recording of a heart-wrenching scream, Kim knows her enemy will go to any lengths to achieve his goals\u2026 and that she must draw on all her experience of evil men to understand what is driving him.<\/p>\n Refusing to blindly follow orders, Kim and the team turn the killer\u2019s clues against him, using evidence buried deep in the tapes to find where he\u2019s hiding his victim. But they are too late\u2026 And then, as the sun rises on the second day, someone else goes missing. This time, it\u2019s a skilled surgeon, and if they don\u2019t save her, an eight-year-old girl will die.<\/p>\n Exhausted and enraged, with her bosses watching every step she takes, Kim realises the only way to win is to break the rules. But with the clock ticking,\u00a0can she find the twisted mind behind this murderous game before her time runs out?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Vanilla Killer by Peter Boland<\/strong><\/p>\n PUT THE KETTLE ON AND DISCOVER AN UTTERLY CHARMING MURDER MYSTERY SET IN A SLEEPY ENGLISH SEASIDE TOWN.<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s a perfect summer\u2019s day in Southbourne. And Partial Sue\u2019s in one of her rare generous moods. She wants to treat all the ladies of the Dogs Need Nice Homes charity shop to supper.<\/p>\n But before the ladies can shut up shop and head to the chippie, the air is filled with the strains of \u2018Greensleeves\u2019. And a clapped-out old ice-cream van lurches into view. The gang can barely believe their eyes. Especially when they see who\u2019s behind the wheel.\u00a0Daisy\u2019s daughter Bella.<\/strong><\/p>\n Newly divorced Bella\u2019s only just rid herself of her rotten husband. Now she\u2019s landed herself in an even stickier situation. This banger may be stocked with sweet treats, but its freezer once held something much more sinister \u2014\u00a0the dead body of its former owner!<\/strong><\/p>\n Everyone in the village knows the van\u2019s sinister history. Except poor Bella. The culprit slipped away without a trace. But the village folk allsay\u00a0it\u2019s just a matter of time until the Vanilla Killer strikes again!<\/strong><\/p>\n When Bella starts receiving poison pen letters, the ladies can\u2019t help but worry. What if their beloved Bella\u2019s next?<\/p>\n There\u2019s only one thing for it, the ladies agree over a steaming pot of tea.\u00a0They need to put the Vanilla Killer on ice . . . before anyone else dies.<\/strong><\/p>\n Back to Index<\/a><\/p>\n The Magnificent Ruins by Nayantara Roy<\/strong><\/p>\n Lila De is on the verge of a career breakthrough when she gets a call from her mother in Kolkata, informing her that she\u2019s inherited her family\u2019s sprawling estate-so she returns there after a decade of estrangement. Lila\u2019s grandmother, aunts, uncles, and cousins still live on different floors of the house, and all of them resent her sudden inheritance. To make matters more complicated, her first boyfriend seeks her out when she arrives, and her star author-and occasional lover- is suddenly determined to make things serious.<\/p>\n As Lila come to terms with both past and present, suppressed family secrets emerge, culminating in a shocking act of violence. Lila has no choice but to finally address her family\u2019s inherited custom of keeping everything under the surface.<\/p>\n Lights! Camera! Mayhem by Jodi Taylor<\/strong><\/p>\n Jodi Taylor and the disaster magnets of St Mary\u2019s return with a story of chaos and\u00a0catastrophe, to wish you a very Merry Christmas.<\/strong><\/p>\n Coming to a screen near you\u2026<\/p>\n TEMPORA, THE TIME TRAVELLING TOURIST<\/p>\n Starring Astrid Gustafsson as Helen of Troy \u2013 \u2018the face that launched a thousand ships\u2019<\/p>\n With Dirk Thrust as Achilles \u2013 \u2018demi god and hero\u2019<\/p>\n And the Wooden Horse as Himself \u2013 \u2018easily the least wooden performance from anyone participating in this particular travesty\u2019 (Dr Maxwell)<\/p>\n Watch and weep as this epic tale unfolds\u2026<\/p>\n It\u2019s drama, darling! In this year\u2019s festive tale, the nation\u2019s favourite film producer, Calvin Cutter, returns to darken the doors of St Mary\u2019s once again\u2026<\/p>\n Back to Index<\/a><\/p>\n A Family at War by Rosie Clark<\/strong><\/p>\n 1940, Stretton Village, Cambridgeshire<\/strong><\/p>\n The start of the war and the tragic loss of their beloved father marks the end of an era for the Searles family as their children embark on their adult lives<\/p>\n Eldest sister Frances is about to marry her childhood sweetheart. But with Marcus Danby now a fighter pilot, his fate hanging in the balance. Will he return from war for their happy ever after?<\/p>\n Meanwhile youngest daughter Emily is swept off her feet by a dashing young officer, but does she really know him?<\/p>\n Brother Daniel has joined up, but not before falling in love with a local kitchen girl Alice. Against the backdrop of war is there hope of a future for them?<\/p>\n And then there are those siblings left behind. Clay and Henry working the land in trying times, and Connor too young to serve, but suddenly abandoned by the family he counted on.<\/p>\n With only a gold-digging mother-in-law to advise them, these siblings are all in danger of making rash decisions that don\u2019t bode well for their futures\u2026<\/p>\n The Champagne Letters by Kate Macintosh<\/strong><\/p>\n Reims, France, 1805: Barbe-Nicole Clicquot has just lost her beloved husband but is determined to pursue their dream of creating the premier champagne house in France, now named for her new identity as a widow: Veuve Clicquot. With the Russians poised to invade, competitors fighting for her customers, and the Napoleonic court politics complicating matters she must set herself apart quickly and permanently if she, and her business, are to survive.<\/p>\n In present day Chicago, broken from her divorce, Natalie Taylor runs away to Paris. In a book stall by the Seine, Natalie finds a collection of the Widow Clicquot\u2019s published letters and uses them as inspiration to step out of her comfort zone and create a new, empowered life for herself. But when her Parisian escape takes a shocking and unexpected turn, she\u2019s forced to make a choice. Should she accept her losses and return home, or fight for the future she\u2019s only dreamed about? What would the widow do?<\/p>\n The Sunflower House\u00a0 by Adriana Allegri<\/strong><\/p>\n Family secrets come to light as a young woman fights to save herself, and others, in a Nazi-run baby factory\u2014a real-life Handmaid\u2019s Tale\u2014during World War II.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a sleepy German village, Allina Strauss\u2019s life seems idyllic: she works at her uncle\u2019s bookshop, makes strudel with her aunt, and spends weekends with her friends and fianc\u00e9. But it\u2019s 1939, Adolf Hitler is Chancellor, and Allina\u2019s family hides a terrifying secret\u2014her birth mother was Jewish, making her a Mischling.<\/p>\n One fateful night after losing everyone she loves, Allina is forced into service as a nurse at a state-run baby factory called Hochland Home. There, she becomes both witness and participant to the horrors of Heinrich Himmler\u2019s ruthless eugenics program.<\/p>\n Back to Index<\/a><\/p>\n His Christmas List by TL Swan<\/strong><\/p>\n The annual collection of reader favorite Christmas short stories by T L Swan including\u00a0two<\/em>\u00a0brand new stories! Available for a limited short time, this holiday season.<\/strong><\/p>\n This year\u2019s edition of\u00a0His Christmas List<\/em>\u00a0features the following stories:<\/strong><\/p>\n You Wish<\/strong> You Wish.\u00a0<\/strong>(2024) Falling For Brunetti.\u00a0<\/strong>(2024) Alaskan Jack\u00a0<\/strong>(2021) The Christmas Angel\u00a0<\/strong>(2022) The Bonus\u00a0<\/strong>(2023) The Expert\u00a0<\/strong>(2023) Mr. Prescott\u00a0<\/strong>(2023) Beating Heart by Laura Pavlov<\/strong><\/p>\n From the moment my son came into the world \u2013 my life changed. I\u2019d found my purpose.<\/p>\n My heart beats for this kid every damn day, and life is good. But then Emerson Chadwick happens. Our town\u2019s new paediatrician is gorgeous, brilliant, and complicated.<\/p>\n But I\u2019m not looking for complications.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n To make matters worse, she\u2019s moved in next door, and she\u2019s everywhere I turn.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t stay away no matter how hard I try, but Emerson isn\u2019t here to stay. And now my heart beats for her in a way I never expected.<\/p>\n Falling for the girl next door is a bad idea. Loving her\u2026well, that\u2019s as easy as breathing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Love in Translation by Joss Wood<\/strong><\/p>\n Is love the one language she can\u2019t speak?<\/p>\n Up until a few months ago, Rheo Whitlock had it all. Stability, self-confidence and a safe job as an interpreter for the United Nations\u2026 It was the secure sort of existence she had always dreamed of. But ever since an unfortunate incident threw her career into a tailspin, she\u2019s been struggling.<\/p>\n Rheo knows the perfect place to escape to: her grandmother\u2019s secluded hideaway in the breathtaking town of Gilmartin.<\/p>\n Fletcher Wright lives for adrenaline, always chasing the next high. So when he learns he\u2019ll have to share his rental accommodations with Rheo \u2013 a stranger, basically \u2013 he simply chalks it up to another challenge. It doesn\u2019t hurt that there\u2019s an immediate attraction between them.<\/p>\n Before long, they\u2019re not just sharing a house and new experiences \u2013 they\u2019re sharing a bed. But when it\u2019s time for Fletcher to move on to the next adventure, he and Rheo will both have to decide \u2013 are they ready to take the biggest risk of all?<\/p>\n Back to Index<\/a><\/p>\n So that\u2019s all for this week.<\/p>\n Happy Reading!<\/strong><\/p>\nIndex<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Crime, Thriller & Mystery <\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Brunetti<\/strong>
The Expert<\/strong>
The Christmas Angel<\/strong>
Mr. Prescott<\/strong>
The Bonus<\/strong>
Alaskan Jack<\/strong><\/p>\n
When Emma lost her purse en route to Aspen it causes more problems than she could ever imagine.
With no identification, no hotel, and no way of getting home, she\u2019s forced to take a four hour car ride with a rude stranger that she met on the plane.
Handsome, sarcastic, and totally full of himself, this man is Emma\u2019s worst nightmare.
When the weather closes in and they are forced to take an unexpected detour, a bad situation turns into a bad decision.
One that will change everything.<\/p>\n
Halle Morant has the world at her feet.
Great friends, a new life in Italy, and the job of her dreams.
That is until she sees Brunetti across a crowded club and he becomes the toxic star of her dreams.
She\u2019s been warned not to get mixed up in the land of Ferrara and up until now it\u2019s been relatively easy. He doesn\u2019t even know she exists.
That is until she attends a speed dating night and comes face to face with her fantasy.
Two minutes was all it took for him to sink his teeth into her.
A smart girl would walk away.
But what Brunetti wants, Brunetti takes.\u2026. And to hell with the consequences.<\/p>\n
When city girl, Holly, took a business trip to Alaska, she was unprepared.
Her assistant called in sick, she missed her flight, then had to drive for hours in the dead of night.
Add to that, a storm, a car accident, and a grumpy saviour, Jack.
When Holly is forced to spend the night in Jack\u2019s log cabin.
She gets more than she bargained for.
Alaska, where the weather is wild, and so are the men.<\/p>\n
Zoe never thought she\u2019d be grateful for a flat tyre but when a handsome policeman pulled over to help her\u2026 things changed.
Constable Dylan Andrews was every Christmas wish come true.
And when he offered to give her a private escort home, she knew she was in for one hell of a ride.<\/p>\n
My name is Grace Porter, and I am the personal assistant to Gabriel Ferrara, CEO of Ferrara Media in New York.
It\u2019s the perfect job, great pay, beautiful office, everything I ever dreamed of, if not for one small detail.
I am utterly and hopelessly in love with my boss.<\/p>\n
Elizabeth is in the middle of a nightmare. She has to go to a work conference that her ex is attending with his new wife.
When Kerry her assistant sneakily organizes a date for her for the weekend she\u2019s beyond mortified.
Enter Thomas Stone.
Suave, handsome, and experienced. An expert in the field of dating.
He\u2019s handsome and witty, utterly infuriating.
Then things go from bad to worse when they are forced to share a hotel room.
But sometimes things happen for a reason and maybe there\u2019s more to Thomas than meets the eye.<\/p>\n
Alora\u2019s Christmas is looking up, she\u2019s booked into an exclusive resort in Switzerland to fulfil a bucket list fantasy.
The rules are no names, no personal details, and no contact after.
When she\u2019s introduced to the enigmatic Mr. Doe she had no idea that he would turn her world on its head.
After forty eight hours with him, life will never be the same.<\/p>\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/m.media-amazon.com\/images\/I\/41mbXD7YkLL._SY445_SX342_.jpg\")
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