Tag: Women

Horror, Psychological, Suspense, Women

The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

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Description

Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: attend an exclusive, month-long writing retreat at the estate of feminist horror writer Roza Vallo. Even the knowledge that Wren, her former best friend and current rival, is attending doesn’t dampen her excitement.

But when the attendees arrive, Roza drops a bombshell—they must all complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. Determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, Alex buckles down and tries to ignore the strange happenings at the estate, including Roza’s erratic behavior, Wren’s cruel mind games, and the alleged haunting of the mansion itself. But when one of the writers vanishes during a snowstorm, Alex realizes that something very sinister is afoot. With the clock running out, she must discover the truth—or suffer the same fate.

A claustrophobic and propulsive thriller exploring the dark side of female relationships and fame, The Writing Retreat is the unputdownable debut novel from a compelling new talent.

My Thoughts

I’ve read several reviews of this incandescent debut comparing it The Plot, The Secret History, and other novels. But I am here to tell you that this is like nothing you’ve ever read before.

This is psychological mayhem at its very best.

All I’m going to say is READ THIS!

Advance Praise

“Sex, suspense, and the supernatural fuel this propulsive debut.” —People
“Darkly satirical and action-packed….An absolutely splendid debut!” —Wendy Walker, nationally bestselling author of Don’t Look for Me

“I loved this chilling, tightly plotted, feminist, seriously effed-up thriller…and not just because my brilliant sister wrote it! Can’t wait for everyone else to fall in love with this wicked debut.” —Andrea Bartz, NYT bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick WE WERE NEVER HERE

“A sexy, thrilling, compulsive mediation on art and competition amongst women who ought to be sisters, only something malignant gets in the way.” —Sarah Langan, award-winning author of GOOD NEIGHBORS

• “A wild ride from page one . . . This thrill-packed story brims with secrets, intrigue and murder. I dare you to put it down.” —Janice Hallett, internationally bestselling author of THE TWYFORD CODE

“THE WRITING RETREAT is bonkers in the best way, and it left me with a brutal case of author envy.” —Layne Fargo, author of THEY NEVER LEARN

“NIGHT FILM meets THE SECRET HISTORY in Julia Bartz’s bold, brilliant, and genuinely scary debut . . . Palpable atmosphere, sinister characters, full-body chills, jaw-dropping twists, and stay-up-all-night suspense. I am obsessed with this book. I never wanted it to end.” —Megan Collins, author of THE FAMILY PLOT

“Equal parts nightmare and erotic fantasy as five would-be writers are pulled deeper into the secrets of Blackbriar and its inhabitants.”—Jennifer Fawcett, author of BENEATH THE STAIRS

Food & Drink, Mystery, Psychological, Suspense, Women

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

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Description

Every summer for the past ten years, six awe-struck bakers have descended on the grounds of Grafton, the leafy and imposing Vermont estate that is not only the filming site for “Bake Week” but also the childhood home of the show’s famous host, celebrated baker Betsy Martin.

The author of numerous bestselling cookbooks and hailed as “America’s Grandmother,” Betsy Martin isn’t as warm off-screen as on, though no one needs to know that but her. She has always demanded perfection, and gotten it with a smile, but this year something is off. As the baking competition commences, things begin to go awry. At first, it’s merely sabotage—sugar replaced with salt, a burner turned to high—but when a body is discovered, everyone is a suspect.

A sharp and suspenseful thriller for mystery buffs and avid bakers alike, The Golden Spoon is a brilliant puzzle filled with shocking twists and turns that will keep you reading late into the night until you turn the very last page of this incredible debut.

My Thoughts

I’ve heard a lot of buzz about this debut and I wasn’t disappointed. The plot is well-constructed and slick in it’s blending of the baking competition show and a semi-locked-room mystery. The format, featuring short sections channeling the thoughts of the characters, might put off readers who like their mysteries complex, but I found it a pleasant change from lengthy prose. The multiple perspectives of the characters added confusion and tension to the plot, leading to the bombshell ending.

I spent some time last year bingeing a rather silly series called The Great Witches Bake Off, so I am guessing that setting murders on set of these kinds of shows might be a new trend. I’d welcome it because The Golden Spoon was a lot of fun!

Highly recommended.

“This delicious combination of Clue and The Great British Bake Off kept me turning the pages all night!” —Janet Evanovich, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Only Murders in the Building meets The Maid in this darkly beguiling locked-room mystery where someone turns up dead on the set of TV’s hottest baking competition—perfect for fans of Nita Prose, Richard Osman, and Anthony Horowitz.

Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Published By: Atria Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Historical, Mystery, Women

The White Lady By Jacqueline Winspear

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Description

The White Lady introduces yet another extraordinary heroine from Jacqueline Winspear, creator of the best-selling Maisie Dobbs series. This heart-stopping novel, set in Post WWII Britain in 1947, follows the coming of age and maturity of former wartime operative Elinor White—veteran of two wars, trained killer, protective of her anonymity—when she is drawn back into the world of menace she has been desperate to leave behind.

A reluctant ex-spy with demons of her own, Elinor finds herself facing down one of the most dangerous organized crime gangs in London, ultimately exposing corruption from Scotland Yard to the highest levels of government.

The private, quiet “Miss White” as Elinor is known, lives in a village in rural Kent, England, and to her fellow villagers seems something of an enigma. Well she might, as Elinor occupies a “grace and favor” property, a rare privilege offered to faithful servants of the Crown for services to the nation. But the residents of Shacklehurst have no way of knowing how dangerous Elinor’s war work had been, or that their mysterious neighbor is haunted by her past.

It will take Susie, the child of a young farmworker, Jim Mackie and his wife, Rose, to break through Miss White’s icy demeanor—but Jim has something in common with Elinor. He, too, is desperate to escape his past. When the powerful Mackie crime family demands a return of their prodigal son for an important job, Elinor assumes the task of protecting her neighbors, especially the bright-eyed Susie. Yet in her quest to uncover the truth behind the family’s pursuit of Jim, Elinor unwittingly sets out on a treacherous path—yet it is one that leads to her freedom.

My Thoughts

Jacqueline Winspear is one of the best writers of historical fiction practicing today. Her Maisie Dobbs series is pretty perfect, and this stand-alone effort is just as good as any of the Dobbs books.

The setting is somewhat familiar – Winspear’s strength is her capacious knowledge of the two World Wars and all aspects of the service that went into both, especially service by women. Here, we have a retired spy/assassin who is trying to build a life away from the service. Try as she might, she cannot avoid getting involved with other humans, another thing that is common on Winspear’s work. She has an uncanny way of writing characters who think they want to be alone but who end up forging important and long-lasting friendships.

The writing here is excellent, with good descriptive passages and well-delivered dialog. I’d expect nothing less from this author. Winspear’s fans won’t be disappointed.

Recommended.

Publication Date: March 21, 2023
Published By: Harper
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Children's, Fairytales, Fantasy, Folktales, Magical, Women, Young Adult

Unseelie by Ivelisse Housman

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Description

The start of a swoony, high-energy duology that Emily Lloyd-Jones, author of The Bone Houses, calls “reminiscent of classic fairytales yet brimming with a charm all its own.”

“A world of glimmering fae that sparkles with mystery, adventure, and enchantment.” —Andrew Joseph White, New York Times bestselling author of Hell Followed with Us

Iselia “Seelie” Graygrove looks just like her twin, Isolde…but as an autistic changeling left in the human world by the fae as an infant, she has always known she is different. Seelie’s unpredictable magic makes it hard for her to fit in—and draws her and Isolde into the hunt for a fabled treasure. In a heist gone wrong, the sisters make some unexpected allies and find themselves unraveling a mystery that has its roots in the history of humans and fae alike.

Both sisters soon discover that the secrets of the faeries may be more valuable than any pile of gold and jewels. But can Seelie harness her magic in time to protect her sister and herself?

“Housman’s stunning debut is the sort of love letter only an autistic author could write. Fae canon has been waiting for this one.” —H.E. Edgmon, author of The Witch King

My Thoughts

The author provides an informative and thought-provoking introduction to Unseelie where she discusses what it’s like to be a changeling. Ivelisse Housman, you see, is autistic. She presents an interesting case for the changelings – those unusual beings well-known in folklore as fairy children who have replaced human children – having been children with autism whose differences made them part of folklore.

In Unseelie, Housman has created a character who is different. Whose differences are acknowledged by her family, if not fully accepted, and who is loved unconditionally. Iselia or Seelie as she is called throughout the book, doubts herself and feels responsible for bad things that happened to her family. In Housman’s hands, though, Seelie becomes powerful as she accepts who she is and what she can do.

The story follows many of the familiar themes in folklore – there’s a quest, a treasure, and a band of misfits who battle powerful forces. There is also a strong theme of family and friendship which provides the backbone upon which the story is built. And this is a cracking good story – imaginative, clever, and full of vivid description.

This is a beautiful and powerful story that will surely appeal to fans of fantasy and folklore of all ages. Appropriate for upper middle grade and older.

Publication Date: January 3, 2023
Published By: Inkyard Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

British, Detective, Mystery

The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths

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Description

The discovery of a missing woman’s bones force Ruth and Nelson to finally confront their feelings for each other as they desperately work to exonerate one of their own in this not-to-be-missed Ruth Galloway mystery from USA Today bestselling author Elly Griffiths.

When builders discover a human skeleton during a renovation of a café, they call in archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway, who is preoccupied with the threatened closure of her department and by her ever-complicated relationship with DCI Nelson. The bones turn out to be modern—the remains of Emily Pickering, a young archaeology student who went missing in 2002. Suspicion soon falls on Emily’s Cambridge tutor and also on another archeology enthusiast who was part of the group gathered the weekend before she disappeared—Ruth’s friend Cathbad.

As they investigate, Nelson and his team uncover a tangled web of relationships within the archeology group and look for a link between them and the café where Emily’s bones were found. Then, just when the team seem to be making progress, Cathbad disappears. The trail leads Ruth a to the Neolithic flint mines in Grimes Graves. The race is on, first to find Cathbad and then to exonerate him, but will Ruth and Nelson uncover the truth in time to save their friend?

My Thoughts

Elly Griffith’s Ruth Galloway series has become one of my “comfort” reads – books to pick up when things become too much and I just want to escape into a fictional world. I was disappointed when I heard that this would be the last in the Galloway series, but I must say Griffiths has done a masterful job of tying up lots of loose ends and especially in the way she brings the series full-circle with the re-introduction of a particular character.

The story is familiar – Ruth is called to excavate bones found in unusual circumstances, which leads to all sorts of adventures for Ruth, Nelson, Cathbad, Judy, Kate, and all the rest of the characters fans have come to love. The mystery is handled with Griffith’s usual cleverness, but it’s the human relationships that she handles with grace, style, and wit.

While I am sorry to see the series sunset, I can’t give anything but praise for how the end has been revealed.

Well done!

Publication Date: April 25, 2023
Published By: Mariner Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Cozy, Mystery

The Raven Thief by Gigi Pandian

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Description

Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian is one of the best locked room mystery writers working today. Her newest heroine, Tempest Raj, returns in The Raven Thief, where sliding bookcases, trick tables, and hidden reading nooks hide something much more sinister than the Secret Staircase Construction crew ever imagined.

One murder. Four impossibilities. A fake séance hides a very real crime.

Secret Staircase Construction just finished their first project with Tempest Raj officially a part of the team—a classic mystery novel-themed home interior. Their client is now ready to celebrate her new life without her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a party, and Tempest and Grandpa Ash are invited to the exclusive mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property—for good. It’s all lighthearted fun until Corbin’s dead body crashes the party.

The only possible suspects are the eight people around the séance table—a circle of clasped hands that wasn’t broken. Suspicion quickly falls on Grandpa Ash, the only one with actual blood on him. To prove her beloved grandfather’s innocence, Tempest must figure out what really happened—and how—or Ash will be cooking his delectable Indian and Scottish creations nevermore.

My Thoughts

The more I read Gigi Pandian, the more she begins to secure a permanent spot on my book shelves. I adored the first in this series, and enjoyed the sophomore entry very much. Pandian gives us another very clever mystery featuring Tempest Raj, one of the most interesting characters I’ve read in a very long time. Her background as a magician combined with her family’s profession of constructing hidden rooms and staircases make this a fascinating series.

The writing is well-developed, comfortable, and uncomplicated, but the plot is as intricate as ever. We learn more about Tempest, her friends, and her family and are treated to some fascinating magic and mystery. I totally want to see this series be adapted for television!

If you enjoy this series, try Pandian’s other work, especially The Accidental Alchemist series, which features a gargoyle!

Publication Date: March 21, 2023
Published By: St. Martin’s Press; Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Historical, Magical Realism, Mystery, Women

Weyward by Emilia Hart

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Description

“A brave and original debut, Weyward is a spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft.” ––Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family’s grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

My Thoughts

Reminsicent of Louisa Morgan and M.J. Rose’s work, Weyward is a wrenching story of three special women bound together by blood and unique ability over centuries. It’s a familiar story about how women with “magical” abilities (read that as healing abilities or exceptional intelligence) were feared and often attacked and murdered, or committed to asylums, then descendants become victims of abuse in the present time.

The three women here – Altha, Violet, and Kate – share a bond with nature unlike other people. Their individual stories are very different but also entwined with the same bigotry and fear that spans centuries. Well-written with relatively short chapters that alternate from woman to woman, Weyward is a quick, captivating read full of magical realism that reveals the indignity and dangers faced by unusual women from the 1600s to the present day.

Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Published By: St. Martin’s Press
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Detective, Mystery

Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths

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Description

A murderer strikes at a school reunion—but the students are no strangers to death— in this propulsive, twisty thriller from the internationally bestselling author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries. 

Is it possible to forget that you’ve committed a murder?

When Cassie Fitzgerald was at school in the late 90s, she and her friends killed a fellow student. Almost twenty years later, Cassie is a happily married mother who loves her job—as a police officer. She closely guards the secret she has all but erased from her memory.

Until her husband persuades her to go to a school reunion. Cassie catches up with her high-achieving old friends from the Manor Park School—among them two politicians, a rock star, and a famous actress. But then, shockingly, one of them is found dead in the school bathroom, supposedly from a drug overdose. As the victim was an eminent—and controversial—MP and the investigation is high profile, it’s headed by Cassie’s new boss, DI Harbinder Kaur, freshly promoted and newly arrived in London. The trouble is, Cassie can’t shake the feeling that one of them has killed again.

My Thoughts

Griffiths is already one of my go-to authors and I am so pleased to see her ramping up the Harbinder Kaur series at the same time she ends the Ruth Galloway series.

Kaur is a magnificent protagonist – wry, funny, brave, and well-able to hold her own in the male-dominated world of London CID. In this new entry, Kaur has moved from Sussex to London and is trying to acclimate herself to the big city. Her social awkwardness is endearing and familiar to anyone who has found themselves in a new, unfamiliar, but exciting city. That awkwardness has no effect on her ability to solve a murder, and this one is a doozie!

As usual, Griffiths’ writing is on pointe – a perfect blend of dialog and description, witty, and clever. This series is a winner and I really, really hope we see Harbinder on the screen sometime soon.

Action Adventure, Mystery, Suspense, Women

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn

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Description

Older women often feel invisible, but sometimes that’s their secret weapon.

They’ve spent their lives as the deadliest assassins in a clandestine international organization, but now that they’re sixty years old, four women friends can’t just retire – it’s kill or be killed in this action-packed thriller by New York Times bestselling and Edgar Award-nominated author Deanna Raybourn.

Billie, Mary Alice, Helen, and Natalie have worked for the Museum, an elite network of assassins, for forty years. Now their talents are considered old-school and no one appreciates what they have to offer in an age that relies more on technology than people skills.

When the foursome is sent on an all-expenses paid vacation to mark their retirement, they are targeted by one of their own. Only the Board, the top-level members of the Museum, can order the termination of field agents, and the women realize they’ve been marked for death.

Now to get out alive they have to turn against their own organization, relying on experience and each other to get the job done, knowing that working together is the secret to their survival. They’re about to teach the Board what it really means to be a woman—and a killer—of a certain age.

My Thoughts

Red meets Kill Bill in this delicious romp featuring four of the most entertaining but deadly female characters ever put to page. This is such a different type of story from Raybourn and proves she’s one of her generation’s most accomplished writers.

Fans of her 19th century series may not appreciate the departure, but I sincerely hope they give this a chance. Every character is drawn tautly but with warmth and wit, and the story is flawless.

If you’re looking for a purely entertaining, action-packed adventure, this is your book. I will be astonished if this doesn’t get adapted to film.

General, Magical, Women

Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen

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Description

From the acclaimed author of Garden Spells comes an enchanting tale of lost souls, lonely strangers, secrets that shape us, and how the right flock can guide you home.

Down a narrow alley in the small coastal town of Mallow Island, South Carolina, lies a stunning cobblestone building comprised of five apartments. It’s called The Dellawisp and it is named after the tiny turquoise birds who, alongside its human tenants, inhabit an air of magical secrecy.

When Zoey Hennessey comes to claim her deceased mother’s apartment at The Dellawisp, she meets her quirky, enigmatic neighbors including a girl on the run, a grieving chef whose comfort food does not comfort him, two estranged middle-aged sisters, and three ghosts. Each with their own story. Each with their own longings. Each whose ending isn’t yet written.

When one of her new neighbors dies under odd circumstances the night Zoey arrives, she is thrust into the mystery of The Dellawisp, which involves missing pages from a legendary writer whose work might be hidden there. She soon discovers that many unfinished stories permeate the place, and the people around her are in as much need of healing from wrongs of the past as she is. To find their way they have to learn how to trust each other, confront their deepest fears, and let go of what haunts them.

Delightful and atmospheric, Other Birds is filled with magical realism and moments of pure love that won’t let you go. Sarah Addison Allen shows us that between the real and the imaginary, there are stories that take flight in the most extraordinary ways.

My Thoughts

I rarely re-read books in ARC form (I wait until I have the final copy in hand), but I re-read this one. I’ve been waiting for a new story from Sarah Addison Allen for a long time. I found her earlier books beautiful, evocative, and soothing. Other Birds is all that and more.

The thread of mothers and daughters that winds through this tale is what hooked me, I think. Allen gives us a flawed protagonist striking out on her own for the first time and trying to learn more about the mother she doesn’t remember. She begins her new life in a place her mother loved, where she encounters other sorts of mothers and daughters and sons, all with complicated maternal relationships.

Allen weaves a rich and gentle story about ordinary people living seemingly ordinary lives, who are touched by magic for just a little while. The stories and their many pathways circle around, duck under, and weave back in to create a bubble of a world that is full of love, regret, and hope.

One of the best of the year.