Firstly, my apologies for the lateness of this newsletter. I have been traveling again suddenly and this past weekend had the privilege of going to the Masters in Augusta, but it has meant a lot of chaos and running around.
Secondly, I have a confession. I’ve mostly been reading romance novels again. Romance novels are seeing a resurgence and there are so many great ones and I have been diving into them for some easy stress-free reading. But never fear! There have been some mysteries too.
I finished my second copy of The Untold Story by Genevieve Cogman, the 8th book in her ‘Invisible Library’ series. I don’t think it is the last book in the series, but it was clearly the end of a narrative arc. This would be a good series too for precocious tween/teen readers as there is a hint of romance, but no particularly adult content. She has a new series coming out at the end of this year based on The Scarlet Pimpernel called Scarlet.
I cannot explain how I came to read Will Thomas’ ‘Barker & Llewelyn’ series, but here I am, 12 books in. I finished Dance with Death in hardcover, which comes out in TP this week. It is a very easy to read series with lots of interesting historical subplots and surprisingly strong females characters. Book #13, Fierce Poison, is out this week in hardcover.
When I tell you my To Read pile is out of control, that is the understatement of the century. I’m about halfway through Deanna Raybourn’s An Impossible Impostor, book #7 in her ‘Veronica Speedwell’ series. She has a proper thriller called Killers of a Certain Age coming out in September about lady assassins in their 60s which sounds quite intriguing.
April also always brings the delightful double whammy of a new Anna Lee Huber in TP (A Perilous Perspective, #10 in her ‘Lady Darby’ series) and a new C.S. Harris (When Blood Lies, #17 in her ‘Sebastian St. Cyr’ series). I was ecstatic to see in the lists that there is also a new Ben Aaronovitch this month, Amongst Our Weapons, #9 in his ‘Rivers of London’ series. And looking a teeny bit further ahead to May, there is a new Andrew Cartmel in his ‘Vinyl Detective’ series, #6 in Attack and Decay.
I’ll be in the store May 6th and 7th if anyone wants some in-person romance recommendations as well!