Publication date Thursday, January 18, 2024 Price £16.99 EAN\ISBN-13 9781804191354
Description
Every good hero needs a villain! Explore the hidden world of magnetic and mysterious villains, often cast aside and misunderstood in tales of mythology and folklore. Through the pages of Queer Villains of Myth and Legend, discover a diverse community of fascinating characters, ranging from seductive and cunning to powerful and awe-inspiring.
Experience the dark allure of Circe and Medusa through to David Bowie’s Jareth in Labyrinth and delve into their complex and multifaceted personalities and motivations. Take a deep dive into the intersection of queerness and villainy, re-examine some of our favourite characters, and discover why so many ‘bad’ characters are queer-coded.
From ancient mythology to contemporary pop culture, Queer Villains of Myth and Legend celebrates the fascinating stories of these often-overlooked characters. Join Dan Jones on a journey of discovery, as he explores the hidden depths of queer villainy and sheds light on the queer identities of these compelling figures. It’s a powerful celebration of queerness through the ages in all its legendary complexity.
PUBLICTION DATE: 18th JANUARY 2024 PAPERBACK ORIGINAL | £9.99 | ORENDA BOOKS
They’re the housemates from Hell…
When her disastrous Australian love affair ends, Lou O’Dowd heads to Edinburgh for a fresh start, moving in with her cousin, and preparing for the only job she can find … working at a halfway house for very high-risk offenders.
Two killers, a celebrity paedophile and a paranoid coke dealer – all out on parole and all sharing their outwardly elegant Edinburgh townhouse with rookie night-worker Lou…
And instead of finding some meaning and purpose to her life, she finds herself trapped in a terrifying game of cat and mouse where she stands to lose everything – including her life.
Slick, darkly funny and nerve-janglingly tense, Halfway House is both a breath-taking thriller and an unapologetic reminder never to corner a desperate woman…
Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and with the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide? As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories of his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key? Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…
PUBLICATION DATE: 1 DECEMBER 2023 HARDBACK ORIGINAL | £16.99 | ORENDA BOOKS
Blurb
When Óttar Karlsson B OOK S , a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.
As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account.
Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…
Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off a mind-blowing new series.
Publication date Thursday, October 26, 2023 Price £14.99 EAN\ISBN-13 9781856755269
Blurb
Description A fascinating and entertaining collection of facts, quotes and stories, celebrating Sir David Attenborough’s wicked sense of humour and astute wisdom. David Attenborough is a national treasure, known for his soothing voice, calming presence, passion for the natural world, and his humble, easy-going nature. Despite his incredible talent and influence, he tends to play it all down, one time stating that, ‘I can’t believe I’m still employed’.
So if he won’t celebrate himself, we’ll have to do it for him. Filled with facts, tributes and anecdotes, as well as beautiful illustrations, this enormously positive book celebrates Sir David, providing a fascinating insight into his life as well as showcasing his brilliant sense of humour. Running chronologically, this book begins with his early days, to his first job at the BBC, to eventually becoming the most esteemed naturalist on the planet, as he is today.
Such revelations include:
There are 18 plants and animals named after him
When asked by a reporter how many degrees he had, he said it would be ‘rude to count’*
The single thing that would improve his quality of life is ‘good, workable knees’. Blending his quips galore with his powerful messages on the environment and future of the planet, this timely book showcases everything we love about Sir David, making it the perfect gift for any fan.
P U B L I C AT I O N DATE: 12th OCTOBER 2023 PA PE RB AC K O R I G I N A L | £9.99 | ORE N DA BOOKS
Blurb
On a snowy winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is discovered near Reykjavík. Inside are the bodies of five young women – one of them barely alive.
As Icelandic Police detective Daníel struggles to investigate the most brutal crime of his career, Áróra looks into the background of a suspicious man, who turns out to be engaged to Daníel’s former wife, and the connections don’t stop there…
Daníel and Áróra’s cases pit them both against ruthless criminals with horrifying agendas, while Áróra persists with her search for her missing sister, Ísafold, whose devastating disappearance continues to haunt her.
As the temperature drops and the 24-hour darkness and freezing snow hamper their efforts, their investigations become increasingly dangerous … for everyone.
● Genre – Fiction > Dark Fantasy > Fairy Tales, Folklore & Mythology ● ISBN hardcover – 9781787588431 ● ISBN paperback – 9781787588424 ● ISBN ebook – 9781787588448 ● Pricing [USD] $26.95 (HC) / $16.95 (PB) / $4.99 (EB) ● Releases July 11 2023 ● Published by Flame Tree Press ● Distributed by Simon & Schuster
SYNOPSIS
A must-read dark fantasy debut for fans of “The Witcher”, woodland survival guides, the gruesome original Grimm Brothers stories, and dark folklore from around the world…
A journey into the wild woods with a character who just needs a break—and the terrible things that stare back at her.
When curious nomad Anna hears about Whisperwood, a town that’s not on any maps, that nobody goes to, and nobody comes from, she sees an opportunity to hide from her violent witch-hunting ex.
But not everything is peaceful in the isolated community. A vanishing town, a gruesome funeral rite, an emergency field surgery—these surprises and more test Anna’s resolve.
Prevented from leaving the frontier settlement by folk magic she doesn’t understand, Anna lends helping hands everywhere she can, but quickly finds that investigating the forest too closely could end up being the last thing she does.
Cozy Craft Mysteries can be read in any order. A funny whodunnit series, full of charming characters and mysteries that will keep you guessing to the very end.
Things are going great for Penny Slipper. Running a sewing shop in the middle of the English countryside is like a dream come true and she’s got her colourful cousin Izzy and her corgi, Monty, to keep her entertained.
Her grandma’s eightieth birthday is coming up soon and Penny and Izzy are busier than ever, making fancy dress costumes for the party guests.
However, Penny’s dream life is thrown into chaos when a murdered woman is found in the bathroom of her cosy flat above the shop. With the doors and the windows all locked, no one can understand how this mystery corpse got there.
But things take a further sinister turn when a local shopkeeper is also killed. There’s a murderer on the loose and no one is safe!
Can Penny and Izzy uncover the answers and unmask the criminal in their midst?
If your ideal book features mystery, friendship, cute romance, even cuter animals, crafting and a big slice of birthday cake then this is the book for you.
Thanks to Rachel for organising this blog tour and to the author for my copy of this book.
In this Cozy Craft mystery, Penny gets home from a trip to London to find a dead woman on the loo and an incriminating note from Izzy. Meanwhile the stitch and natter group must be dealt with and a water leak controlled. The police are eventually called when Izzy returns and the pair realise there was a bit of a misunderstanding. It seems the building was locked up tight, and they have nothing worth stealing, so why was the woman on the toilet? How did she get in and who killed her?
Since they can’t stay in the shop, Penny and Monty go to stay with Izzy and her parents. They have a small house and a surprisingly large garden, but Monty doesn’t like the upheaval and starts misbehaving. Izzy meets a potential boyfriend when she finds a way to deal with Monty’s outbursts.
Nanna Lem is having a birthday party and Izzy’s dad, Terry King wants an Elvis costume. Everyone else wants costumes too, so Penny devises a ‘family discount’ chart to help Izzy say no to cousins who expect freebees. To get some inspiration, the pair visit a neighbour who specialises in musical memorabilia. He has just the thing to inspire them.
Eventually, Penny, Izzy and Monty get back in the shop but there’s an awful mess and Aubrey has to do an assessment for the insurance company, while Darren the plumber suggests a cheeky fiddle. There’s a couple of questionable characters hanging about outside, and Stuart Dinktrout starts moaning about the fabric of the building.
Izzy and Penny do some sleuthing and both have realisations about the crime as the man down the road is found dead on a golf course. The police are rather annoyed by Izzy and Penny.
At Nanna Lem’s party, the criminals are revealed, the hows and whys are answered, and there’s an Elvis competition. Izzy invites her dog trainer to the party while Penny is still torn between Aubrey and Oscar.
This is the third book in the series and once again we find the creative pair getting into and out of some odd situations; the dead woman on the loo is just the start of it. We meet some of Izzy and Penny’s other family and learn more about Nanna Lem’s past. Izzy is clearly from a highly creative family, but you wouldn’t want to live next door to them. Penny and her Aunt Pat seem like the sensible ones.
Penny’s dilemma about how to start a relationship is understandable. Oscar is very forthright about his feelings but is fine with friendship; Aubrey says lovely things but doesn’t ask directly, leaving Penny confused about both of them. She could carry on with both of them as friends, or one friend and one boyfriend. Can’t see why she can’t have two boyfriends, personally, so long as everyone knows and consents to it.
Monty once again points the reader in the right direction and I think he’s a useful doggy ex machina, as well as a fun character. Dogs are always a good excuse for wondering about places you’re not meant to. Or just generally wandering about. (Yes, I am using the correct wondering and wandering – thing about it).
The reality of small towns – knowing everyone and being distantly related to half of the long-term residents, bossy town officials, gossip and nosiness – is admirably demonstrated, as is the reality of being a creative sector professional; everyone thinks they can ask for something for free because they know you but don’t actually value your time, skills or the materials costs. I totally understand the frustrations of being asked to ‘rustle up’ something that’ll take days to make and cost a fortune, by people who want it for free. If I make you something as a gift that’s one thing, but I’m charging for my time and materials otherwise.
I can see Penny and Izzy building an investigative relationship with DS Chang, the police officer who has turned up in all three books so far. He’s not imposing on the plot much at the moment, but his appearances have become more important in this novel. Tariq the enthusiastic young journalist is another character I can see being important as part of their ‘famous five sleuthing’ as Aubrey puts it at one point in the story, as a recorder of events, especially with his camera.
The Cozy Crafts Mysteries have fairly straightforward plots, set in a familiar setting, just like many Golden Age crime novels, especially Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple novels. They have red herrings and quirky main characters, with the police only tangentially involved. From me this is not a criticism – I enjoy Miss Marple stories, and I like the modern cosy mystery that has evolved from the same tradition. These ones are easy to read and entertaining. You’re halfway through before you know it.
Need the odd bit of editing though. I noticed a few mis-used words and a chapter change that wasn’t formatted correctly.
Right, on to number 4 – The Swan Dress Murder, which I have already started reading.
Giveaway Prize – The Wonderland Murders, a cross stitch book, a floral notepad, a note writing set and a grass bunny.
Author Bio – Millie Ravensworth writes the Cozy Craft Mystery series of books. Her love of murder mysteries and passion for dressmaking made her want to write books full of quirky characters and unbelievable murders. Millie lives in central England where children and pets are something of a distraction from the serious business of writing, although dog walking is always a good time to plot the next book.
Interlude by Felicia Ketcheson Release Day – 31st March Genre: Young Adult – Dystopian Format: ePub
Blurb
In the isolated city of Lexum, following your heart’s desire against the will of the collective
could be deadly. But for seventeen-year-old Breel Sorep, the urge to express herself is just too tempting.
With her passion for drawing on the list of banned activities, Breel is devastated when she receives her final warning. Art offers an escape from the harsh realities of her life, but to be caught once more would have dire consequences for the rebellious teen.
If only Uncle Famut’s stories of the fictional world of Intercludae were real. Then Breel could be free to express her creativity instead of being trapped in the field of computer programming—a career chosen for her as a small child.
Starting in a new role, Breel encounters Cafrec, a co-worker with striking sparkling blue eyes, who’s unlike anyone the young woman has ever met. Together, the pair begin to decipher a series of clues which seem to reveal that Intercludae may not be so fictional after all.
Using her programming skills and cunning, Breel must decide how far she’s willing to go to have the freedom she so desperately wants. But as Breel and Cafrec try to escape the forces of oppression, can Breel leave everything she knows and risk her own life for the faint hope of finally finding freedom.
Everything Is Better With Dragons 